Business First Bancshares Completes Progressive Bancorp Merger Integration

Business First Bancshares ( (BFST) ) has issued an announcement.

On January 1, 2026, Business First Bancshares completed its merger with Progressive Bancorp, with Progressive and its subsidiary Progressive Bank absorbed into Business First and b1BANK, respectively, in an all-stock transaction that delivered approximately 3.2 million Business First shares to Progressive shareholders and converted existing Progressive equity awards into merger consideration. The deal, announced in a January 5, 2026 press release, lifts Business First’s balance sheet to roughly $8.7 billion in assets, $6.6 billion in loans and $7.2 billion in deposits, adding nine North Louisiana locations and bolstering the group’s presence in that region, while also bringing Progressive’s longtime chairman and CEO George W. Cummings III onto the boards of both Business First and b1BANK and naming Progressive president David Hampton as b1BANK’s vice chairman for the North Louisiana market, moves that deepen local leadership and are expected to strengthen the bank’s competitive positioning in Louisiana.

The most recent analyst rating on (BFST) stock is a Buy with a $30.00 price target. To see the full list of analyst forecasts on Business First Bancshares stock, see the BFST Stock Forecast page.

Spark’s Take on BFST Stock

According to Spark, TipRanks’ AI Analyst, BFST is a Outperform.

Business First Bancshares shows strong technical momentum and a solid valuation, supported by a positive earnings call sentiment. Financial performance is robust, though challenged by declining revenue and low operating cash flow coverage. The stock’s attractive P/E ratio and dividend yield further enhance its investment appeal.

To see Spark’s full report on BFST stock, click here.

More about Business First Bancshares

Business First Bancshares, Inc. (Nasdaq: BFST) is the holding company for b1BANK, a commercial and personal banking provider operating banking centers and loan production offices across Louisiana and Texas. As of September 30, 2025, the company reported $8.0 billion in assets and $5.7 billion in assets under management through affiliate Smith Shellnut Wilson LLC, excluding $0.9 billion of b1BANK assets managed by SSW, positioning it as a regional banking player focused on serving both commercial and retail clients in its core Southern markets.

Average Trading Volume: 115,734

Technical Sentiment Signal: Strong Buy

Current Market Cap: $766.4M

For an in-depth examination of BFST stock, go to TipRanks’ Overview page.