Form 4 - Statement of changes in beneficial ownership of securities

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* MANSFIELD KEITH (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) Director 10% Owner X Officer (give title below) Other (specify below) EVP&COO of b1Bank
	3. Date of Earliest Transaction (Month/Day/Year) 07/30/2024
	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	07/30/2024		M		40,000	A	$17.65	111,897(1)(2)	D
COMMON STOCK	07/30/2024		F		28,534	D	$26.22	83,363(1)(2)	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
STOCK OPTIONS (RIGHT TO BUY)	$17.65	07/30/2024		M			40,000	(3)	06/02/2026	Common Stock	40,000	$0	0	D

Explanation of Responses:

1. Includes (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.

2. Includes 5,000 shares held by reporting person's IRA.

3. Stock Options (Right to Buy) vested in four equal installments beginning on the grant date, June 2, 2016, and ending June 2, 2019.

	/s/ Heather Roemer, as attorney-in-fact for Keith Mansfield	08/01/2024
	** 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.

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