Business First Bancshares

BFST

Banks - Regional · Financial Services

Price

$30.89

-0.48 (-1.53%)

Market Cap

$1.01B

Exchange

NASDAQ

Winston Score

Winston is curious

A decent business — some strong pillars, some weaker.

Share count rising — dilution

+43.7% over 4y

The company has issued more shares over this period, which dilutes each existing shareholder’s stake.

Diluted shares outstanding: 20.6M (2021) → 29.7M (2025)

Business First Bancshares, Inc. operates as the bank holding company for b1BANK that provides various banking products and services. It offers various deposit products and services, including checking, demand, money market, time, and savings accounts; and certificates of deposits, remote deposit capture, and direct deposit services. The company also provides commercial and industrial loans, such as commercial lines of credit, letters of credit, working capital, term, equipment financing, asset a

Winston Score History

Growth Profile

For growth stock investors

When traditional metrics don't capture the full picture, these are the signals growth stock investors use instead.

Revenue Growth

+6.6% YoY

YoY Growth Rate

Slow revenue growth

EPS Growth

+4.6% YoY

YoY Growth Rate

Slow EPS growth

R&D Spend

$0/ year

0.0% of revenue

Below sector average (7%)

Research and development spending

Insider Activity

6.1%ownership

→ Flat

Insiders holding steady — not selling despite ability to

Cash Position

Cash flow positive

$590M cash & investments

Quarterly Free Cash Flow

→ Burn rate stable

Company generates more cash than it spends — no dilution risk from fundraising

Growth context

Business First Bancshares is growing revenue at 7% year-over-year. The Winston Score measures business quality today — these growth metrics show what could matter tomorrow.

The Winston Score above measures business quality today. Growth stocks often score lower because they invest in the future rather than maximising current profits. These metrics show what matters most for evaluating that future.

Score breakdown

Every number that matters to educated investors.

Each metric is explained in plain language so you know exactly what you're looking at. Start your free trial now.

Quality

Gross Margin

62.9%

Premium pricing power — 62.9% gross margin

Operating Margin

22.0%

Excellent — 22.0% operating margin

ROCE

2.1%

Weak — 2.1% return on capital

ROIC between 0% and 5%. They earn a few cents back per dollar invested in the business.

Full breakdown available with your free trial

See every metric, trend, and what it means for this stock.

Try free

Growth

Sales YoY

+8.8%

Steady sales growth (8.8% YoY)

EPS YoY

+15.1%

Earnings growing fast (15.1% YoY)

Healthy double-digit earnings growth — what compounders look like.

EPS Consistency

8/8 quarters

Every recent quarter grew earnings vs last year

Full breakdown available with your free trial

See every metric, trend, and what it means for this stock.

Try free

Cash Flow

Cash Conversion

99%

Turns 99% of profit into real cash

FCF Margin

16.7%

Converts sales into free cash efficiently (16.7%)

FCF margin between 10% and 20%. Every $100 in sales becomes $10 to $20 in real cash.

Full breakdown available with your free trial

See every metric, trend, and what it means for this stock.

Try free

Stability

Debt / Equity

0.39

Conservative — low debt load (0.39)

Interest Cover

0.61x

Dangerous — barely covers interest (0.6x)

Interest coverage below 1. Their profits don't cover the interest bill.

Full breakdown available with your free trial

See every metric, trend, and what it means for this stock.

Try free

Valuation

P/E Ratio (TTM)

11.0x

Attractive valuation — P/E 11.0

P/E in the normal range. Price is roughly $15 for every $1 of yearly profit.

P/E vs Forward

+0.8

GROWING

Earnings roughly flat

Full breakdown available with your free trial

See every metric, trend, and what it means for this stock.

Try free

Dividends

Dividend Yield

1.93%

Small dividend — 1.93% yield

Modest yield. The bulk of any return needs to come from price appreciation.

Dividend Growth

+5.4%

Dividend growing modestly (5.4% YoY)

Full breakdown available with your free trial

See every metric, trend, and what it means for this stock.

Try free

🔒 See full fundamentals and if they are improving or declining — click here for your free trial now.

Start free trial