SEC FORM 4

SEC FORM 4 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

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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^*

Hall William G.

(Last)

(First)

(Middle)

500 LAUREL STREET, SUITE 101

(Street)

BATON ROUGE

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)
1. Title of Security (Instr. 3)	2. Transaction Date (Month/Day/Year)	2A. Deemed Execution Date, if any (Month/Day/Year)	Code	V	Amount	(A) or (D)	Price		6. Ownership Form: Direct (D) or Indirect (I) (Instr. 4)	7. Nature of Indirect Beneficial Ownership (Instr. 4)
COMMON STOCK								19,974⁽¹⁾⁽²⁾	D
COMMON STOCK								14,939⁽¹⁾⁽³⁾	I	By: Align Opportunities, LP⁽⁴⁾

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)
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)	Code	V	(A)	(D)	Date Exercisable	Expiration Date	Title	Amount or Number of Shares	8. Price of Derivative Security (Instr. 5)		10. Ownership Form: Direct (D) or Indirect (I) (Instr. 4)	11. Nature of Indirect Beneficial Ownership (Instr. 4)
Restricted Stock Units	$0	06/26/2025		A		1,016		⁽⁵⁾	⁽⁵⁾	Common Stock	1,016	⁽⁵⁾	1,016	D
Stock Options (Right to Buy)	$24.45	10/01/2024⁽⁶⁾		A⁽⁶⁾		511		⁽⁶⁾	10/16/2029	Common Stock	511	$0	511	D
Stock Options (Right to Buy)	$24.45	10/01/2024⁽⁶⁾		A⁽⁶⁾		767		⁽⁶⁾	01/01/2031	Common Stock	767	$0	767	D
Stock Options (Right to Buy)	$24.45	10/01/2024⁽⁶⁾		A⁽⁶⁾		767		⁽⁶⁾	08/17/2032	Common Stock	767	$0	767	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. Includes 72 shares currently being held in escrow pursuant to the Agreement and Plan of Reorganization (the "Reorganization Agreement") by and between the issuer and Oakwood Bancshares, Inc. ("Oakwood").

3. Includes 3,550 shares currently being held in escrow pursuant to the Reorganization Agreement by and between the issuer and Oakwood.

4. The reporting person disclaims beneficial ownership of these securities except to the extent of his pecuniary interest therein.

5. 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.

6. The stock options (right to buy) were granted to the reporting person on October 1, 2024, pursuant to the Reorganization Agreement by and between the issuer and Oakwood.

	/s/ Heather Roemer, as attorney-in-fact for William G. Hall	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.

SEC Form 4 filed by Director Hall William G.