Business First Bancshares, Inc. (BFST) Key Metrics
BFST valuation today
Trailing 12 months · as of October 17, 2026- Market cap
- $1.02B
- Enterprise value
- $1.01B
- P/E (TTM)
- 11.1 10-yr median 10.8
- Forward P/E
- 9.7
- PEG ratio
- —
- Price / sales
- 3.1 10-yr median 2.1
- Price / book
- 1.1 10-yr median 0.9
- EV / EBITDA
- — 10-yr median 2.7
- Dividend yield
- 1.92% $0.60 a year
- Beta
- 0.78
BFST key metrics, 2016–2025
Fiscal year ended December 31, 2025 · U.S. dollarsBFST valuation Price multiples at each fiscal year-end price.
BFST returns How much profit the business earns on the capital it uses.
BFST per-share figures Results divided by the shares outstanding at year-end.
BFST financial health Debt, liquidity and how easily interest is covered.
BFST efficiency & capital use Working capital cycle and where the cash goes.
BFST valuation history
BFST returns on capital
Net income (ROE, ROA) or after-tax operating income (ROIC) divided by the average of the opening and closing balance.
BFST debt vs cash
Debt includes short- and long-term borrowings and, where reported, lease liabilities.
BFST cash returned to shareholders
BFST price vs earnings per share
BFST key metrics
2016–2025| 2025 | 2024 | 2023 | 2022 | 2021 | 2020 | 2019 | 2018 | 2017 | 2016 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Valuation | ||||||||||
| Market capitalization | $775.2M | $679.8M | $623.5M | $505.2M | $584.1M | $371.4M | $340.8M | $279.8M | — | — |
| Enterprise value | $324.5M | $815.3M | $152.9M | $21.8M | −$317.7M | −$312.3M | $159.2M | −$33.6M | — | — |
| P/E ratio | 8.8 | 10.4 | 8.8 | 9.3 | 11.2 | 12.4 | 14.3 | 19.9 | — | — |
| Price / sales | 1.5 | 1.5 | 1.6 | 1.9 | 2.9 | 2.2 | 3.0 | 3.3 | — | — |
| Price / book | 0.9 | 0.9 | 1.0 | 0.9 | 1.3 | 0.9 | 1.2 | 1.1 | — | — |
| Price / free cash flow | 8.4 | 11.4 | 7.7 | 8.2 | 11.1 | 14.1 | 16.7 | 15.2 | — | — |
| Price / operating cash flow | 8.4 | 11.1 | 6.7 | 7.3 | 10.3 | 12.7 | 14.0 | 14.5 | — | — |
| EV / sales | 0.6 | 1.8 | 0.4 | 0.1 | -1.6 | -1.9 | 1.4 | -0.4 | — | — |
| EV / EBITDA | 2.7 | 9.2 | 1.6 | 0.3 | — | — | 5.1 | — | — | — |
| EV / free cash flow | 3.5 | 13.6 | 1.9 | 0.4 | — | — | 7.8 | — | — | — |
| Earnings yield | 11.3% | 9.6% | 11.4% | 10.7% | 8.9% | 8.1% | 7.0% | 5.0% | — | — |
| Free cash flow yield | 11.9% | 8.8% | 13.0% | 12.2% | 9.0% | 7.1% | 6.0% | 6.6% | — | — |
| Dividend yield | 2.9% | 3.0% | 2.9% | 2.4% | 1.6% | 2.0% | 1.5% | 1.2% | — | — |
| Shareholder yield (dividends + buybacks) | 3.4% | 3.0% | 2.9% | 2.4% | 3.5% | 3.6% | 2.2% | 1.2% | — | — |
| Share price at fiscal year-end | $26.14 | $25.70 | $24.65 | $22.14 | $28.31 | $20.36 | $24.93 | $24.23 | — | — |
| Per share | ||||||||||
| Revenue per share | $17.26 | $17.30 | $15.24 | $11.57 | $9.84 | $9.25 | $8.24 | $7.27 | $4.96 | $7.06 |
| Earnings per share | $2.96 | $2.46 | $2.81 | $2.38 | $2.53 | $1.64 | $1.74 | $1.22 | $0.42 | $0.74 |
| Operating cash flow per share | $3.10 | $2.32 | $3.65 | $3.05 | $2.74 | $1.61 | $1.79 | $1.67 | $0.69 | $1.18 |
| Free cash flow per share | $3.10 | $2.26 | $3.19 | $2.71 | $2.54 | $1.45 | $1.50 | $1.59 | $0.65 | $0.98 |
| Cash per share | $33.79 | $13.15 | $43.71 | $45.73 | $52.80 | $43.29 | $26.89 | $35.13 | $24.86 | $34.77 |
| Book value per share | $30.24 | $30.22 | $25.47 | $25.44 | $21.00 | $22.47 | $20.85 | $22.52 | $15.60 | $16.42 |
| Tangible book value per share | $25.67 | $24.98 | $21.50 | $20.94 | $17.51 | $18.99 | $16.82 | $17.55 | $14.84 | $15.10 |
| Dividends per share | $0.75 | $0.77 | $0.71 | $0.53 | $0.46 | $0.41 | $0.37 | $0.28 | $0.16 | $0.15 |
| Capex per share | $0.00 | $0.06 | $0.46 | $0.34 | $0.19 | $0.16 | $0.29 | $0.08 | $0.04 | $0.20 |
| Debt per share | $18.59 | $18.27 | $25.11 | $24.55 | $9.09 | $5.81 | $13.60 | $7.99 | $6.98 | $7.76 |
| Shares outstanding | 29.7M | 26.5M | 25.3M | 22.8M | 20.6M | 18.2M | 13.7M | 11.5M | 11.5M | 6.9M |
| Change in shares outstanding | +12.1% | +4.6% | +10.9% | +10.6% | +13.1% | +33.4% | +18.4% | +0.1% | +66.7% | −1.7% |
| Returns & profitability | ||||||||||
| Return on equity (ROE) | 10.4% | 9.0% | 11.6% | 10.7% | 12.4% | 8.6% | 8.7% | 6.4% | 3.3% | 4.5% |
| Return on invested capital (ROIC) | 13.1% | 11.8% | 52.5% | — | — | — | 94.7% | — | — | — |
| Return on assets (ROA) | 1.1% | 0.9% | 1.1% | 1.0% | 1.2% | 0.9% | 1.1% | 0.8% | 0.4% | 0.5% |
| Return on tangible assets | 1.1% | 0.8% | 1.1% | 0.9% | 1.1% | 0.7% | 1.1% | 0.7% | 0.4% | 0.5% |
| Free cash flow margin | 18.0% | 13.1% | 20.9% | 23.4% | 25.8% | 15.6% | 18.2% | 21.9% | 13.0% | 13.8% |
| Income quality (OCF / net income) | 1.05 | 0.94 | 1.30 | 1.28 | 1.08 | 0.98 | 1.03 | 1.37 | 1.64 | 1.59 |
| Financial health | ||||||||||
| Total debt | $551.4M | $483.3M | $635.1M | $560.1M | $187.6M | $106.0M | $186.0M | $92.2M | $80.5M | $53.6M |
| Cash & short-term investments | $1.00B | $347.8M | $1.11B | $1.04B | $1.09B | $789.7M | $367.6M | $405.6M | $286.7M | $240.5M |
| Net debt | −$450.8M | $135.5M | −$470.6M | −$483.4M | −$901.8M | −$683.7M | −$181.6M | −$313.4M | −$206.2M | −$186.9M |
| Debt / equity | 0.61 | 0.60 | 0.99 | 0.96 | 0.43 | 0.26 | 0.65 | 0.35 | 0.45 | 0.47 |
| Debt / assets | 0.07 | 0.06 | 0.10 | 0.09 | 0.04 | 0.03 | 0.08 | 0.04 | 0.06 | 0.05 |
| Net debt / EBITDA | −3.79 | 1.53 | −4.94 | −6.58 | −13.12 | −17.12 | −5.78 | −16.90 | −20.36 | −23.29 |
| Current ratio | 0.15 | 0.06 | 0.21 | 0.22 | 0.27 | 0.22 | 0.20 | 0.24 | 0.27 | 0.26 |
| Quick ratio | 0.15 | 0.06 | 1.12 | 0.26 | 0.35 | 0.32 | 0.29 | 0.24 | 0.27 | 0.26 |
| Interest coverage | 0.6 | 0.4 | 0.7 | 1.9 | 3.9 | 1.7 | 1.3 | 1.2 | 1.2 | 1.2 |
| Working capital | −$5.94B | −$6.16B | −$4.15B | −$3.79B | −$2.99B | −$2.83B | −$1.48B | −$1.33B | −$768.4M | −$693.4M |
| Invested capital | $446.1M | $935.0M | $173.7M | $97.1M | −$468.5M | −$273.8M | $103.5M | −$53.3M | −$26.3M | −$73.3M |
| Tangible asset value | $761.2M | $660.6M | $544.0M | $477.9M | $361.3M | $346.4M | $229.9M | $202.7M | $171.1M | $104.5M |
| Net current asset value | −$6.28B | −$6.67B | −$4.80B | −$4.34B | −$3.18B | −$2.94B | −$1.61B | −$1.42B | −$850.5M | −$748.4M |
| Graham number | $44.90 | $40.91 | $40.12 | $36.89 | $34.55 | $28.83 | $28.56 | $24.87 | $12.15 | $16.52 |
| Graham net-net per share | −$211.99 | −$252.64 | −$284.24 | −$194.81 | −$162.21 | −$171.07 | −$124.10 | −$123.17 | −$73.82 | −$108.24 |
| Capital allocation | ||||||||||
| Dividends paid | $22.2M | $20.3M | $18.1M | $12.2M | $9.4M | $7.5M | $5.1M | $3.3M | $1.8M | $1.1M |
| Share buybacks (net) | $3.7M | $31,000 | $0 | $0 | $10.9M | $5.8M | $2.6M | $0 | $33,000 | $863,000 |
| Dividend payout ratio | 25.3% | 31.1% | 25.4% | 22.4% | 18.1% | 25.1% | 21.3% | 23.3% | 37.0% | 20.7% |
| Dividends + buybacks / free cash flow | 28.2% | 33.9% | 22.4% | 19.7% | 38.8% | 50.5% | 37.2% | 17.9% | 24.5% | 28.4% |
| Capex / revenue | 0.0% | 0.3% | 3.0% | 2.9% | 2.0% | 1.8% | 3.5% | 1.1% | 0.9% | 2.8% |
| Capex / operating cash flow | 0.1% | 2.5% | 12.6% | 11.2% | 7.0% | 10.1% | 16.2% | 4.8% | 6.3% | 17.1% |
| Capex / depreciation | 0.01 | 0.30 | 2.49 | 1.61 | 0.95 | 0.94 | 2.49 | 0.78 | 0.43 | 1.07 |
| Stock-based compensation / revenue | 1.1% | 0.7% | 1.0% | 1.4% | 1.4% | 1.5% | 1.0% | 1.2% | −0.1% | 0.9% |
| SG&A / revenue | 25.6% | 24.4% | 25.5% | 34.8% | 34.7% | 38.9% | 36.5% | 38.8% | 45.6% | 49.4% |
| Efficiency | ||||||||||
| Days sales outstanding | 26.5 | 26.2 | 26.3 | 31.3 | 39.1 | 34.5 | 26.3 | 26.8 | 23.9 | 2,882.4 |
| Days of inventory on hand | — | — | -6,333.4 | -1,969.7 | -4,990.1 | -2,823.9 | -1,134.8 | 23.8 | 22.5 | -19,860.6 |
| Days payables outstanding | 9.2 | 19.2 | 21.7 | 13.3 | 28.6 | 21.9 | 20.5 | 25.3 | 28.8 | 38.5 |
| Cash conversion cycle (days) | 17.3 | 7.1 | -6,328.8 | -1,951.7 | -4,979.7 | -2,811.3 | -1,129.0 | 25.4 | 17.6 | -17,016.8 |
| Receivables turnover | 13.77 | 13.92 | 13.88 | 11.67 | 9.34 | 10.58 | 13.86 | 13.62 | 15.27 | 0.13 |
| Payables turnover | 39.48 | 19.05 | 16.85 | 27.52 | 12.77 | 16.64 | 17.80 | 14.45 | 12.67 | 9.48 |
| Inventory turnover | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 15.31 | 16.22 | — |
| Asset turnover | 0.06 | 0.06 | 0.06 | 0.05 | 0.05 | 0.05 | 0.05 | 0.05 | 0.05 | 0.04 |
| Average receivables | $37.2M | $32.9M | $27.8M | $22.6M | $21.7M | $16.0M | $8.1M | $6.2M | $3.7M | $385.7M |
| Average payables | $5.1M | $10.4M | $8.5M | $1.7M | $1.9M | $2.0M | $1.5M | $1.1M | $905,000 | $743,000 |
| Average inventory | — | — | −$2.48B | −$255.9M | −$336.3M | −$259.5M | −$80.4M | $1.1M | $707,000 | −$383.4M |
| Intangibles / total assets | 1.7% | 1.8% | 1.5% | 1.7% | 1.5% | 1.5% | 2.4% | 2.7% | 0.7% | 0.8% |
Computed from BFST's annual financial statements (latest annual report filed February 26, 2026) and the closing share price on each fiscal year-end, adjusted for stock splits. Figures in U.S. dollars; data from EODHD. Averages use the opening and closing balance of each year.
BFST valuation and financial ratios
At the end of fiscal 2025 (December 31, 2025), Business First Bancshares traded at 8.8 times earnings, against a 10-year median of 10.8. Based on the latest twelve months, the trailing P/E is 11.1 and the forward P/E is 9.7. Business First Bancshares earned a return on equity of 10.4% and a return on invested capital of 13.1% in fiscal 2025. It ended the year with $551.4 million of debt and $1.0 billion in cash and short-term investments, a net cash position of $450.8 million. It returned $26.0 million to shareholders: $22.2 million in dividends and $3.7 million in share buybacks, 28% of free cash flow. The share count rose 328.8% from 6.9M to 29.7M over 9 years.
See the BFST income statement, the BFST chart for price history, or the BFST stock overview for the latest quote and news.
BFST key metrics FAQ
What is Business First Bancshares's P/E ratio?
Business First Bancshares's trailing P/E ratio is 11.1 based on the last twelve months of earnings (as of October 17, 2026), and its forward P/E is 9.7. At the end of fiscal 2025 it was 8.8, compared with a 10-year median of 10.8.
What is Business First Bancshares's EV/EBITDA?
Business First Bancshares's enterprise value was 2.7 times EBITDA at the end of fiscal 2025 (enterprise value $324.5 million, EBITDA $119.1 million).
What is Business First Bancshares's return on equity?
Business First Bancshares's return on equity (ROE) was 10.4% in fiscal 2025: net income of $87.9 million on average shareholders' equity of $848.2 million.
What is Business First Bancshares's ROIC?
Business First Bancshares's return on invested capital was 13.1% in fiscal 2025, using after-tax operating income divided by average debt plus equity minus cash.
How much debt does Business First Bancshares have?
Business First Bancshares had total debt of $551.4 million at the end of fiscal 2025, a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61 and more cash than debt.
What is Business First Bancshares's dividend yield?
Business First Bancshares's forward dividend yield is 1.92%. Business First Bancshares paid $22.2 million in dividends in fiscal 2025 ($0.75 per share), a payout ratio of 25.3%.
Does Business First Bancshares buy back its shares?
Yes. Business First Bancshares spent $3.7 million on net share repurchases in fiscal 2025 Shares outstanding changed +12.1% over the year, to 29.7M..
What is Business First Bancshares's free cash flow yield?
Business First Bancshares generated $92.1 million of free cash flow in fiscal 2025, a free cash flow yield of 11.9% on its market value at year-end ($775.2 million).
What is Business First Bancshares's current ratio?
Business First Bancshares's current ratio was 0.15 at the end of fiscal 2025: current assets were 0.15 times current liabilities.