Overview

* Business First Q3 net income rises to $21.5 mln, EPS at $0.73

* Company increases quarterly common dividend to $0.15 per share

* Successful conversion of Oakwood Bank systems completed

Outlook

* Company focuses on operational execution and M&A projects for future performance improvement

Result Drivers

* OAKWOOD CONVERSION - Successful conversion of Oakwood Bank systems onto Business First's platform completed in September 2025

* STABLE NET INTEREST INCOME - Net interest income increased to $69.3 mln, with net interest margin stable at 3.68%

* SECURITIES PORTFOLIO GROWTH - Securities portfolio increased by $59.5 mln, driven by purchases of mortgage-backed securities and fair value adjustments

Key Details

Metric Beat/Mis Actual Consensu

s s

Estimate

Q3 EPS $0.73

Q3 $21.20

Adjusted mln

Net

Income

Q3 Net $69.30

Interest mln

Income

Q3 Loan $1.63

Loss mln

Provisio

n

Analyst Coverage

* The current average analyst rating on the shares is "buy" and the breakdown of recommendations is 5 "strong buy" or "buy", no "hold" and no "sell" or "strong sell"

* The average consensus recommendation for the banks peer group is "buy"

* Wall Street's median 12-month price target for Business First Bancshares Inc ( BFST ) is $30.50, about 23.6% above its October 21 closing price of $23.31

* The stock recently traded at 8 times the next 12-month earnings vs. a P/E of 9 three months ago

Press Release:

For questions concerning the data in this report, contact [email protected]. For any other questions or feedback, contact .

(This story was created using Reuters automation and AI based on LSEG and company data. It was checked and edited by a Reuters journalist prior to publication.)