Business First Bancshares Form 4 Shows Routine Equity Grant to Director

Rhea-AI Filing Summary

Business First Bancshares, Inc. (BFST) filed a Form 4 disclosing that director Zeenat Sidi received an equity award and updated her shareholdings.

• Non-derivative holdings: 658 common shares reported; no transaction occurred—this line simply updates ownership as of 06/26/2025.
• Derivative grant: 1,016 time-based restricted stock units (RSUs) awarded on 06/26/2025 under the 2024 Equity Incentive Plan. The RSUs carry a zero exercise price and are economically equivalent to common shares. They will fully vest on 06/26/2026; unvested units are subject to forfeiture under certain conditions.
• Post-filing ownership: 658 common shares (direct) and 1,016 unvested RSUs (direct).

No open-market purchases or sales were reported. The filing primarily reflects routine director compensation designed to align incentives rather than signal insider sentiment. Given the modest size of the award relative to BFST’s 1Q 2025 diluted share count (~30 million), the impact on dilution or market perception is expected to be minimal.

Positive

• Director-shareholder alignment: RSU grant ties board compensation to future share performance, promoting long-term governance focus.

Negative

• None.

Insights

Equity Compensation Analyst

TL;DR: Routine RSU grant to BFST director; neutral market impact.

The Form 4 shows a standard director equity award—1,016 RSUs vesting in one year—plus disclosure of 658 previously held shares. Such grants encourage board alignment with shareholders but are immaterial to BFST’s capital structure (<0.01% of shares outstanding). Absence of open-market buying limits any bullish signaling value. Overall, the filing is informational and not expected to influence valuation or liquidity.

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
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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^*

Sidi Zeenat

(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								658(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 Zeenat Sidi	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

What did BFST disclose in the latest Form 4?

Director Zeenat Sidi was granted 1,016 RSUs and now holds 658 common shares plus these unvested units.

When will the newly granted BFST RSUs vest?

The RSUs will fully vest on June 26, 2026 if service conditions are met.

Did the director buy or sell BFST stock on the open market?

No, the filing reports no open-market transactions; only an equity award was recorded.

How significant is the 1,016-RSU award to BFST’s share count?

It represents less than 0.01% of BFST’s ~30 million diluted shares, making dilution immaterial.

What is the total direct ownership of Zeenat Sidi after the grant?

She directly owns 658 common shares and 1,016 unvested RSUs.