Director Johnson Joseph Vernon converted options into 1,016 shares, increasing direct ownership by 0.56% to 184,073 units (SEC Form 4)
$BFST
Major Banks
Finance
| 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 |
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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*
(Street)
(Country) | 2. Issuer Name and Ticker or Trading Symbol
Business First Bancshares, Inc. [ BFST ] | 5. Relationship of Reporting Person(s) to Issuer
(Check all applicable)
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| 2a. Foreign Trading Symbol
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| 3. Date of Earliest Transaction
(Month/Day/Year) 06/25/2026 | 6. Individual or Joint/Group Filing (Check Applicable Line)
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| 4. If Amendment, Date of Original Filed
(Month/Day/Year) |
| Table I - Non-Derivative Securities Acquired, Disposed of, or Beneficially Owned | ||||||||||
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| 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 | 06/26/2026 | M | 1,016 | A | (2) | 184,073 | D | |||
| Table II - Derivative Securities Acquired, Disposed of, or Beneficially Owned (e.g., puts, calls, warrants, options, convertible securities) | |||||||||||||||
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| 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 | 06/25/2026 | A | 998 | (1) | (1) | Common Stock | 998 | (1) | 2,014 | D | ||||
| Restricted Stock Units | (2) | 06/26/2026 | M | 1,016 | (2) | (2) | Common Stock | 1,016 | (2) | 998 | D | ||||
| Explanation of Responses: |
| 1. 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 25, 2026. The time-based restricted stock units will fully vest on June 25, 2027. 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. |
| 2. The reporting person received an award of 1,016 time-based restricted stock units on June 26, 2025, vesting on the first anniversary of the issuance date. |
| /s/ Heather Roemer, as attorney-in-fact for Joseph Vernon Johnson | 06/29/2026 | |
| ** 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. | ||
| * Form 4: SEC 1474 (03-26) | ||