Business First Bancshares, Inc. (BFST) Stock Forecast Oct. 30, 2026
Analysis updated on Oct. 30, 2026 (UTC) · Alpha · vs marketSwitch to Total · Nasdaq
Business First Bancshares, Inc. (BFST) stock forecast summary
This forecast was produced 3 trading days ago and has not been refreshed since; read it as historical, not as a current view.
Business First Bancshares, Inc. is a small-cap company with a market capitalization of $1.04B. It ranks number 60 by market capitalization among the 60 State Commercial Banks issuers in our coverage with a current forecast.
For BFST, the Spearman rank correlation between our 90-day forecasts and the returns that followed is 12.0%, measured on 357 forecast dates between 2022-08-12 and 2026-07-31 on this stock's own recent history. A rank correlation runs from -100% to +100%: it measures whether higher forecasts were followed by higher returns, and a value near zero or below means the model has shown little skill on this stock. On the 30-day forecasts the same correlation is 6.0%, measured on 400 forecast dates between 2022-08-12 and 2026-09-30. Across our coverage, the out-of-sample test on 4629 stocks from 2025-01-06 to 2026-08-04 produced a positive net return in 92.9% of rebalance periods (factor-neutral book, net of estimated costs). Full backtest report
Expected return relative to the market over the horizon: a positive alpha means the model expects the stock to beat the market, whatever the market does. Ratings: strong buy ≥ +1.9%, buy ≥ +0.2%, sell < -0.9%, strong sell < -1.2% (top 15%, next 20%, middle 30%, next 20%, bottom 15% of the 2026-10-30 signals)
BFST price chart and AI forecast
How BFST ranks among 4891 stocks
90D Alpha forecasts of every company scored, cut into five relative ratings at the 15th, 35th, 65th and 85th percentiles (dashed lines).
Business First Bancshares, Inc. (BFST) fundamentals
Trailing twelve months. The industry median and the rank (1 = highest) are taken over the State Commercial Banks peers listed below that report each metric.
Valuation & Market
| Metric | BFST | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| Market Cap | $1.04B | 60/60 |
| P/E Ratio | 11.40x | 41/58 |
| P/B Ratio | 1.03x | 52/57 |
| Dividend Yield | 1.77% | 42/51 |
| EPS | $2.79 | – |
| Book Value/Share | $30.99 | – |
| Revenue/Share | $10.28 | – |
Profitability & Margins
| Metric | BFST | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| ROE | 9.2% | 43/53 |
| ROA | 1.0% | 37/49 |
| Net Margin | 27.8% | 41/54 |
| EBT Margin | 34.8% | 44/57 |
| Tax Rate | 20.0% | – |
Financial Health
| Metric | BFST | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| D/E Ratio | 7.83x | 25/59 |
| Financial Leverage | 8.83x | 21/53 |
Cash Flow
| Metric | BFST | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| Operating Cash Flow | $103M | 54/58 |
| OCF Growth YoY | 26.6% | 26/53 |
Operational Efficiency
| Metric | BFST | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| Asset Turnover | 0.04x | 9/51 |
| Fixed Assets Turnover | 3.8x | 36/55 |
Income Statement
| Metric | BFST | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| Total Revenue | $335M | 56/57 |
| Net Income | $93M | 53/54 |
Dividend & Shareholder Information
| Metric | BFST | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| Dividends Per Share | $0.56 | – |
| Payout Ratio | 20.1% | 45/51 |
| Shares Outstanding | 33M | – |
| Net Income Growth | 20.8% | 28/53 |
| EPS Growth | 19.2% | 28/56 |
Balance Sheet Highlights (USD millions)
| Cash & Short-term Investments | $576M | 6.5% of assets |
| Total Liabilities | $7.89B | 88.7% of assets |
BFST quarterly financials and insider trading
Business First Bancshares, Inc. (BFST) industry peers
Companies classified under the same SEC industry code as Business First Bancshares, Inc. (State Commercial Banks): 60 common-stock issuers with a forecast this week, one row per issuer, largest first. This is a classification match, not a curated list of competitors.
Reveal all forecasts · See exact % predictions for all competitors
Sign up free| Company | 90-Day AI Forecast (Alpha) | Market Cap |
|---|---|---|
| BFST Business First Bancshares, Inc. | $1.04B | |
| BNS Bank Of Nova Scotia | $115.79B | |
| DB Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft | $64.75B | |
| FITB Fifth Third Bancorp | $48.91B | |
| STT State Street Corp | $46.51B | |
| MTB M&T Bank Corp | $32.41B | |
| NTRS Northern Trust Corp | $31.22B | |
| BBD Bank Bradesco | $27.87B | |
| CFG Citizens Financial Group Inc/Ri | $26.98B | |
| FCNCA First Citizens Bancshares Inc /De/ | $26.57B | |
| EWBC East West Bancorp Inc | $17.92B | |
| ALLY Ally Financial Inc. | $11.54B | |
| WTFC Wintrust Financial Corp | $10.28B | |
| SSB Southstate Bank Corp | $10.20B | |
| BPOP Popular, Inc. | $10.00B | |
| PB Prosperity Bancshares Inc | $8.88B | |
| CBC Central Bancompany, Inc. | $8.83B | |
| COLB Columbia Banking System, Inc. | $8.72B | |
| WAL Western Alliance Bancorporation | $8.58B | |
| CBSH Commerce Bancshares Inc /Mo/ | $7.98B | |
| UBSI United Bankshares Inc/Wv | $6.57B | |
| GBCI Glacier Bancorp, Inc. | $6.37B | |
| HOMB Home Bancshares Inc | $6.03B | |
| HWC Hancock Whitney Corp | $5.83B | |
| ASB Associated Banc-Corp | $5.74B | |
| AUB Atlantic Union Bankshares Corp | $5.61B | |
| ABCB Ameris Bancorp | $5.57B | |
| UCB United Community Banks Inc | $4.54B | |
| FFIN First Financial Bankshares Inc | $4.45B | |
| SFBS Servisfirst Bancshares, Inc. | $4.43B | |
| TCBI Texas Capital Bancshares Inc/Tx | $4.42B | |
| CATY Cathay General Bancorp | $4.33B | |
| IBOC International Bancshares Corp | $4.16B | |
| CVBF Cvb Financial Corp | $4.04B | |
| FBP First Bancorp /Pr/ | $4.01B | |
| INDB Independent Bank Corp | $3.92B | |
| RNST Renasant Corp | $3.71B | |
| FIBK First Interstate Bancsystem Inc | $3.59B | |
| MCHB Mechanics Bancorp | $3.33B | |
| SBCF Seacoast Banking Corp Of Florida | $3.29B | |
| FHB First Hawaiian, Inc. | $3.09B | |
| CUBI Customers Bancorp, Inc. | $2.89B | |
| BOH Bank Of Hawaii Corp | $2.75B | |
| FBK Fb Financial Corp | $2.74B | |
| FBNC First Bancorp /Nc/ | $2.65B | |
| SYBT Stock Yards Bancorp, Inc. | $2.44B | |
| MBIN Merchants Bancorp | $2.42B | |
| BANR Banner Corp | $2.40B | |
| BUSE First Busey Corp /Nv/ | $2.38B | |
| EFSC Enterprise Financial Services Corp | $2.24B | |
| OFG Ofg Bancorp | $2.15B | |
| SRCE 1st Source Corp | $2.15B | |
| HTH Hilltop Holdings Inc. | $2.11B | |
| GABC German American Bancorp, Inc. | $1.86B | |
| STBA S&T Bancorp Inc | $1.83B | |
| RBCAA Republic Bancorp Inc /Ky/ | $1.81B | |
| BY Byline Bancorp, Inc. | $1.74B | |
| TCBK Trico Bancshares / | $1.71B | |
| QCRH Qcr Holdings Inc | $1.69B | |
| OBK Origin Bancorp, Inc. | $1.67B |
Where BFST sits on the market map
Business First Bancshares, Inc. (BFST) stock news
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Business First Bancshares, Inc. (BFST) stock forecast FAQ
What is the Business First Bancshares, Inc. (BFST) stock forecast?
This forecast was produced 3 trading days ago and has not been refreshed since; read it as historical, not as a current view.
How accurate are Business First Bancshares, Inc. stock predictions?
For BFST, the Spearman rank correlation between our 90-day forecasts and the returns that followed is 12.0%, measured on 357 forecast dates between 2022-08-12 and 2026-07-31 on this stock's own recent history. A rank correlation runs from -100% to +100%: it measures whether higher forecasts were followed by higher returns, and a value near zero or below means the model has shown little skill on this stock. On the 30-day forecasts the same correlation is 6.0%, measured on 400 forecast dates between 2022-08-12 and 2026-09-30. Across our coverage, the out-of-sample test on 4629 stocks from 2025-01-06 to 2026-08-04 produced a positive net return in 92.9% of rebalance periods (factor-neutral book, net of estimated costs). Full backtest report
How often are Business First Bancshares, Inc. forecasts updated?
Business First Bancshares, Inc. forecasts are refreshed on trading days as the daily model run completes. The forecast on this page was produced on Oct. 30, 2026.
Which companies are Business First Bancshares, Inc.'s industry peers?
60 issuers in our coverage, BFST included, share the SEC industry code State Commercial Banks. The largest are: Bank Of Nova Scotia (BNS), Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft (DB), Fifth Third Bancorp (FITB), State Street Corp (STT), M&T Bank Corp (MTB), Northern Trust Corp (NTRS).
This analysis is generated automatically using our proprietary AI systems and should not be considered personalized investment advice. Past performance does not guarantee future results. Always conduct your own research and consider consulting a financial advisor before making investment decisions.