[Form 4] Business First Bancshares, Inc. Insider Trading Activity

Rhea-AI Filing Summary

Business First Bancshares, Inc. (BFST) – Form 4 filing (30 Jun 2025)

Director Keith Alexis Tillage reported his equity position as of 26 Jun 2025 and disclosed one new equity-incentive grant:

• Common stock holdings: 5,393 shares; no shares were bought or sold in this filing.
• Restricted Stock Units (time-based): 1,016 RSUs granted on 26 Jun 2025 under the 2024 Equity Incentive Plan. The units are economically equivalent to one BFST share each and will fully vest on 26 Jun 2026, subject to forfeiture under certain conditions.

All reported securities are held directly by the insider. The filing is signed by an attorney-in-fact on 30 Jun 2025.

No open-market transactions, purchases, or dispositions occurred; therefore, the filing does not indicate immediate trading intent but simply records current ownership and a routine equity compensation grant.

Positive

• Alignment of interests: Granting 1,016 RSUs ties the director’s compensation to shareholder value over the next year.

Negative

• None.

Insights

Financial Analyst

TL;DR – Routine RSU grant; no share buying or selling; neutral impact.

The Form 4 shows a standard 1,016-unit equity award to Director Tillage, bringing total beneficial ownership to 5,393 common shares plus the unvested RSUs. No cash transactions occurred, so there is no direct signal of insider sentiment or liquidity needs. The modest size—well under 1% of shares outstanding—suggests negligible dilution and minimal valuation impact. Overall, this is a procedural disclosure consistent with normal board compensation practices.

SEC Form 4

FORM 4

UNITED STATES SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
Washington, D.C. 20549

STATEMENT OF CHANGES IN BENEFICIAL OWNERSHIP

Filed pursuant to Section 16(a) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934
or Section 30(h) of the Investment Company Act of 1940

OMB APPROVAL

OMB Number:			3235-0287
Estimated average burden
hours per response:			0.5

Check this box if no longer subject to Section 16. Form 4 or Form 5 obligations may continue. See Instruction 1(b).

Check this box to indicate that a transaction was made pursuant to a contract, instruction or written plan for the purchase or sale of equity securities of the issuer that is intended to satisfy the affirmative defense conditions of Rule 10b5-1(c). See Instruction 10.

1. Name and Address of Reporting Person^*

Tillage Keith Alexis

(Last) (First) (Middle)

500 LAUREL STREET, SUITE 101

(Street)

BATON ROUGE LA 70801

(City) (State) (Zip)

2. Issuer Name and Ticker or Trading Symbol
Business First Bancshares, Inc. [ BFST ]

5. Relationship of Reporting Person(s) to Issuer
(Check all applicable)

X	Director		10% Owner
	Officer (give title below)		Other (specify below)

3. Date of Earliest Transaction (Month/Day/Year)
06/26/2025

4. If Amendment, Date of Original Filed (Month/Day/Year)

6. Individual or Joint/Group Filing (Check Applicable Line)

X	Form filed by One Reporting Person
	Form filed by More than One Reporting Person

Table I - Non-Derivative Securities Acquired, Disposed of, or Beneficially Owned
1. Title of Security (Instr. 3)	2. Transaction Date (Month/Day/Year)	2A. Deemed Execution Date, if any (Month/Day/Year)	3. Transaction Code (Instr. 8)		4. Securities Acquired (A) or Disposed Of (D) (Instr. 3, 4 and 5)			5. Amount of Securities Beneficially Owned Following Reported Transaction(s) (Instr. 3 and 4)	6. Ownership Form: Direct (D) or Indirect (I) (Instr. 4)	7. Nature of Indirect Beneficial Ownership (Instr. 4)
			Code	V	Amount	(A) or (D)	Price
COMMON STOCK								5,393(1)	D

Table II - Derivative Securities Acquired, Disposed of, or Beneficially Owned (e.g., puts, calls, warrants, options, convertible securities)
1. Title of Derivative Security (Instr. 3)	2. Conversion or Exercise Price of Derivative Security	3. Transaction Date (Month/Day/Year)	3A. Deemed Execution Date, if any (Month/Day/Year)	4. Transaction Code (Instr. 8)		5. Number of Derivative Securities Acquired (A) or Disposed of (D) (Instr. 3, 4 and 5)		6. Date Exercisable and Expiration Date (Month/Day/Year)		7. Title and Amount of Securities Underlying Derivative Security (Instr. 3 and 4)		8. Price of Derivative Security (Instr. 5)	9. Number of derivative Securities Beneficially Owned Following Reported Transaction(s) (Instr. 4)	10. Ownership Form: Direct (D) or Indirect (I) (Instr. 4)	11. Nature of Indirect Beneficial Ownership (Instr. 4)
				Code	V	(A)	(D)	Date Exercisable	Expiration Date	Title	Amount or Number of Shares
Restricted Stock Units	$0	06/26/2025		A		1,016		(2)	(2)	Common Stock	1,016	(2)	1,016	D

Explanation of Responses:

1. No transaction is being reported at this time. This line is only reporting holdings as of June 26, 2025.

2. Reflects the grant of time-based restricted stock units granted to the reporting person under the Business First Bancshares, Inc. 2024 Equity Incentive Plan on June 26, 2025. The time-based restricted stock units will fully vest on June 26, 2026. Each time-based restricted stock unit is economically equivalent to one share of common stock of the issuer. Under the terms of the relevant restricted stock unit grant, the reported unvested restricted stock units are subject to forfeiture upon the occurrence of certain events.

	/s/ Heather Roemer, as attorney-in-fact for Keith Alexis Tillage	06/30/2025
	** Signature of Reporting Person	Date
Reminder: Report on a separate line for each class of securities beneficially owned directly or indirectly.
* If the form is filed by more than one reporting person, see Instruction 4 (b)(v).
** Intentional misstatements or omissions of facts constitute Federal Criminal Violations See 18 U.S.C. 1001 and 15 U.S.C. 78ff(a).
Note: File three copies of this Form, one of which must be manually signed. If space is insufficient, see Instruction 6 for procedure.
Persons who respond to the collection of information contained in this form are not required to respond unless the form displays a currently valid OMB Number.

FAQ

How many BFST common shares does Director Tillage currently own?

He beneficially owns 5,393 BFST common shares.

What new equity award did BFST grant to Director Tillage?

He received 1,016 time-based Restricted Stock Units on 26 Jun 2025.

When will the newly granted RSUs to Director Tillage vest?

The RSUs will fully vest on 26 Jun 2026.

Did the insider buy or sell BFST shares in this Form 4?

No. The filing reports no purchases or sales; it only records holdings and the RSU grant.

Does this filing affect BFST share count materially?

The 1,016-share RSU grant is immaterial relative to BFST’s total shares outstanding.