Business First Bancshares
Runs b1BANK, a Louisiana-and-Texas community bank built for small-to-midsized business owners.
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Profile
Operates b1BANK, a business-focused community bank serving small-to-midsized business owners across Louisiana and Texas, built through a steady sequence of acquisitions since 2006 and paired with a wealth-management affiliate for private-banking clients.
Serves small-to-midsized business owners and their companies as a business-focused community bank operating under the b1BANK brand across Louisiana and Texas.
Grew from a single Baton Rouge bank chartered in 2006 into a multi-market franchise through a steady string of acquisitions, expanding first across Louisiana, then into Houston and the Dallas-Fort Worth metroplex.
Pairs commercial and consumer lending with treasury management, correspondent banking, and a wealth-management affiliate that advises business owners and private-banking clients on investments and financial planning.
Operates as a single reportable segment and functions as a regulated bank holding company, with its Louisiana banking subsidiary supervised at the state level alongside federal bank-holding oversight.
Company facts
Categories
Key statistics
Year to date +20.6% · Average volume (30d) 223.1K
Analysts
Ratings
Target range
Latest analyst notes
| Date | Firm | Action | Prior rating | Rating | Prior target | Target |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jul 24, 2026 | Hovde Group | Reiterate | Outperform | $36 | ||
| Apr 27, 2026 | Stephens | Target | $35 | $33 | ||
| Jan 26, 2026 | DA Davidson | Reiterate | Buy | $33 | ||
| Jan 23, 2026 | Stephens | Target | $35 | |||
| Jan 7, 2026 | Raymond James | Reiterate | Outperform | $28 | $31 |
Earnings
EPS
Revenue
History
| Report date | EPS est | EPS | Surprise | Revenue est | Revenue | Surprise | Next session |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jul 23, 2026Q2 FY26 | $0.70 | $0.71 | +1.4% | $91.3M | $91.8M | +0.6% | +2.26% |
| Apr 27, 2026Q1 FY26 | $0.69 | $0.73 | +5.8% | $91.0M | $89.2M | −1.9% | +1.81% |
| Jan 22, 2026Q4 FY25 | $0.72 | $0.79 | +9.7% | $81.4M | $83.1M | +2.1% | −3.23% |
| Oct 23, 2025Q3 FY25 | $0.69 | $0.72 | +4.3% | $81.4M | $80.8M | −0.7% | +6.88% |
Financial highlights
| 12 quarters | Q1 FY25 | Q2 FY25 | Q3 FY25 | Q4 FY25 | Q1 FY26 | Q2 FY26 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Revenue | $125.5M | $126.2M | $130.2M | $130.0M | $133.8M | $61.2M | |
| Gross profit | $75.0M | $76.1M | $77.6M | $83.1M | $84.2M | $11.7M | |
| Operating income | $25.8M | $28.0M | $28.9M | $30.7M | $29.5M | −$29.5M | |
| Net income | $20.5M | $22.1M | $22.9M | $22.4M | $23.6M | $24.2M | |
| Diluted EPS | $0.65 | $0.70 | $0.73 | $0.71 | $0.68 | $0.70 | |
| Gross margin | 59.8% | 60.3% | 59.6% | 63.9% | 62.9% | 19.0% | |
| Operating margin | 20.6% | 22.2% | 22.2% | 23.6% | 22.0% | -48.2% |
Fiscal years (4-quarter sums)FY21 $202.9M · FY22 $264.2M · FY23 $385.6M · FY24 $457.7M · FY25 $511.9M
Balance sheet, Jun 30, 2026Cash & short-term investments $1.62B · Total debt $616.1M · Total assets $8.90B · Shareholders' equity $1.01B
Dividends
Raised for 7 straight years — most recently to $0.15 from $0.14 in Nov 2025. To collect a payout, hold shares through the close before the ex-date.
History
| Ex-date | Record | Paid | Amount | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aug 14, 2026 | Aug 15 | Aug 31 | $0.15 | |
| May 15, 2026 | May 15 | May 29 | $0.15 | |
| Feb 13, 2026 | Feb 15 | Feb 28 | $0.15 | |
| Nov 14, 2025 | Nov 15 | Nov 30 | $0.15 | raised from $0.14 |
| Aug 15, 2025 | Aug 15 | Aug 31 | $0.14 | |
| May 15, 2025 | May 15 | May 31 | $0.14 | |
| Feb 14, 2025 | Feb 15 | Feb 28 | $0.14 | |
| Nov 15, 2024 | Nov 15 | Nov 30 | $0.14 |
Ownership
Shares outstanding 32.68M · Float 30.83M · 94.4% free float
Top shareholders13F · 13D/G · Form 4
| Holder | Shares | % outstanding | Form | Filed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| BlackRock, Inc. | 2.73M | 8.36% | 13F | Aug 7, 2026 |
| Vanguard Capital Management LLC | 1.40M | 4.28% | 13F | Aug 13, 2026 |
| Dimensional Fund Advisors LP | 1.31M | 4.01% | 13F | Aug 11, 2026 |
| Jupiter Topco LLC | 1.09M | 3.34% | 13F | Aug 14, 2026 |
| State Street Corp | 1.05M | 3.20% | 13F | Aug 7, 2026 |
Insider tradesForm 4
| Date | Insider | Role | Shares | Avg price |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aug 24, 2026 | George W. III Cummings | director | −10,000 | $31.33 |
| Aug 21, 2026 | George W. III Cummings | director | −4,200 | $31.27 |
| Aug 19, 2026 | George W. III Cummings | director | −3,235 | $31.80 |
| Aug 18, 2026 | George W. III Cummings | director | −10,000 | $31.78 |
| Aug 5, 2026 | William G. Hall | director | −11,389 | $31.97 |
Peers
- Hancock Whitney
Gulf South regional bank overlapping directly in Baton Rouge and Houston/DFW
- Origin Bancorp
Close Louisiana community-bank peer parallel-expanding into DFW and Houston
- Prosperity Bancshares
Much larger Houston-based Texas/Oklahoma bank overlapping in Houston
- Investar
Baton Rouge-headquartered community bank, direct home-market rival
- ServisFirst Bancshares
Branch-light commercial bank now entering Houston for business clients
- Home Bancorp
South Louisiana community bank overlapping in Baton Rouge/New Orleans
- Home BancShares
Much larger Sun Belt CRE-focused bank overlapping only in DFW
CompareAfter-hours close
| Company | Price | Change | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Business First Bancshares | $31.21 | 0.00% | $1.02B | 11.1 | 9.9 | 2.2 | +17.2% |
| Hancock Whitney | $75.07 | −0.03% | $6.09B | 14.7 | 10.8 | 3.1 | +7.8% |
| Origin Bancorp | $53.25 | −0.05% | $1.65B | 16.6 | 12.5 | 2.7 | +27.0% |
| Prosperity Bancshares | $72.30 | +0.01% | $8.69B | 12.5 | 10.8 | 4.9 | +25.9% |
| Investar | $30.29 | −0.03% | $416.5M | 12.7 | 9.8 | 2.2 | +64.5% |
| ServisFirst Bancshares | $43.20 | −0.07% | $4.72B | 14.7 | 12.6 | 4.6 | +27.6% |
| Home Bancorp | $69.44 | −0.12% | $546.4M | 11.6 | 11.4 | 2.6 | +7.2% |
| Home BancShares | $29.62 | +0.03% | $5.97B | 12.2 | 11.7 | 4.3 | +10.7% |
| Median | 12.7 | 11.4 | 3.1 | +25.9% |