Business First Bancshares, Inc. (BFST) AI Stock Analysis

Business First Bancshares, Inc. serves as the bank holding company for b1BANK, delivering a wide spectrum of banking products and services. Established in 2006 and headquartered in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, the company operates approximately 48 full-service banking centers and three loan production offices across Louisiana, Dallas, and Houston. It provides deposit accounts, including checking, demand, money market, and savings, as well as certificates of deposit and remote deposit capture. Its lending offerings comprise commercial and industrial loans, commercial lines of credit, construction and development financing, commercial and residential real estate loans, and consumer loans. It also provides wealth management solutions such as mutual funds, annuities, and IRAs.

Revenue increased from $203.1M in FY2021 to $511.9M in FY2025, reflecting a 5-year compound annual growth rate of 24.8%. Over this period, net income rose from $52.1M to $87.9M, while diluted EPS moved from $2.61 to $2.82. Operating margin was 22.2% in FY2025, compared to 31.8% in FY2021 and 18.2% in FY2024. For the trailing twelve months ended June 30, 2026, revenue stood at $334.0M with a profit margin of 27.8% and an operating margin of 34.6%. In the latest quarter ended June 30, 2026, quarterly revenue grew 12.7% year-over-year.

As of June 30, 2026, the company held $1.62B in cash and short-term investments against $616.1M in total debt, resulting in net cash of $1.00B. Total assets stood at $8.90B, and shareholders' equity reached $1.01B. The bank reported a current ratio of 2.05 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61. In FY2025, operating cash flow and free cash flow were both $92.1M, with capital expenditures of $66,000. Capital returns in FY2025 included $22.2M in dividends paid and $3.7M deployed toward share buybacks.

BFST trades at a trailing price-to-earnings multiple of 11.1x and a forward P/E of 9.7x, compared to medians of 12.1x and 10.8x for its US-listed Financial Services peers. The stock has a price-to-sales ratio of 3.1x and an enterprise value to revenue of 4.6x, with a price-to-book ratio of 1.1x. Over the past 12 months, the stock returned 40.7%, outpacing the S&P 500 return of 16.8%. Over a 5-year period, its 38.4% return trails the S&P 500 return of 83.0%.

Business First Bancshares offers an annual forward dividend of $0.60 per share, representing a dividend yield of 1.92% as of October 16, 2026. The payout ratio stands at 20.3%, supported by 9 consecutive years of dividend payments. Over the past 5 years, the dividend grew at an annualized rate of 7.3%. The most recent ex-dividend date was August 14, 2026, with distributions paid on a quarterly schedule.

Wall Street coverage includes 4 Strong Buy ratings and 1 Buy rating, with no Hold, Sell, or Strong Sell recommendations. The mean price target of $34.90 implies an 11.5% upside over the last closing price of $31.31. For the fiscal year ending December 31, 2026, consensus estimates project EPS of $3.01 on revenue of $368.6M. The company beat EPS estimates in 3 of the last 4 quarters, and its next earnings release is scheduled for October 26, 2026.

This page is an AI-written research summary of Business First Bancshares, Inc. (BFST). The text was generated on October 30, 2026 from Quotelinks data as of October 16, 2026 (company profile, annual results, latest balance sheet, valuation, price performance and analyst estimates). An automatic check rejects any draft that contains a figure not found in that data. It is not investment advice; verify figures on the linked tabs before making decisions.

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