| 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)
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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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3. Date of Earliest Transaction
(Month/Day/Year) 12/12/2024 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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4. If Amendment, Date of Original Filed
(Month/Day/Year) |
6. Individual or Joint/Group Filing (Check Applicable Line)
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| 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 | 26,677(1)(2) | D | ||||||||
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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 | (3) | 12/12/2024 | A | 7,657(4) | (4) | (4) | Common Stock | 7,657 | $0 | 7,657 | D | ||||
| Explanation of Responses: |
| 1. No transaction is being reported at this time. This line is only reporting holdings as of the date hereof. |
| 2. Consists of (a) 5,500 shares of unvested restricted stock granted on 2/1/2023 which will vest on 3/31/2025, and (b) 7,442 shares of unvested restricted stock granted on 2/1/2024, of which 3,666 shares will vest on 3/31/2025, and the remaining 3,776 shares will vest on 3/31/2026. Under the terms of the relevant restricted stock grants, the reported shares of unvested restricted stock are subject to forfeiture upon the occurrence of certain events. |
| 3. Reflects time-based restricted stock units granted to the reporting person under the Business First Bancshares, Inc. 2024 Equity Incentive Plan (the "Incentive Plan") on December 12, 2024. The time-based restricted stock units will vest in three substantially equal installments on the first, second, and third anniversary of the issuance date. Each time-based restricted stock unit is economically equivalent to one share of common stock of the issuer. |
| 4. The reporting person has irrevocably elected to defer the reported securities under the b1BANK Deferred Compensation Plan (the "Deferred Compensation Plan"). In accordance with the Deferred Compensation Plan, the reporting person has elected to receive cash in an amount equal to the vested securities under the Deferred Compensation Plan, plus any earnings or losses attributable thereto in accordance with the Deferred Compensation Plan, distributed in equal annual installments over a 10-year period commencing on the first business day of the month following the month in which the reporting person's separation of service occurs. |
| /s/ Heather Roemer, as attorney-in-fact for Norman Jerome Vascocu, Jr. | 12/16/2024 | |
| ** 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. | ||