Business First Bancshares (BFST) Form 5 Business First Bancshares / Norman Jerome Vascocu Jr ownership change

SEC Form 5

FORM 5

UNITED STATES SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
Washington, D.C. 20549

ANNUAL 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).

Form 3 Holdings Reported.

X

Form 4 Transactions Reported.

1. Name and Address of Reporting Person^*

Vascocu Norman Jerome Jr

(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)
President of b1Bank

3. Statement for Issuer's Fiscal Year Ended (Month/Day/Year)
12/31/2024

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 at end of Issuer's Fiscal Year (Instr. 3 and 4)	6. Ownership Form: Direct (D) or Indirect (I) (Instr. 4)	7. Nature of Indirect Beneficial Ownership (Instr. 4)
				Amount	(A) or (D)	Price
COMMON STOCK	11/21/2024		F4(1)	794	D	$27.95	25,883(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)
					(A)	(D)	Date Exercisable	Expiration Date	Title	Amount or Number of Shares

Explanation of Responses:

1. On November 21, 2024, 1,789 shares of restricted stock beneficially owned by the Reporting Person fully vested. These shares were previously reported as beneficially owned by the Reporting Person. Upon vesting, 794 shares of the restricted stock were withheld by the Issuer to satisfy tax withholding obligations of the Reporting Person in connection with the vesting thereof.

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.

	/s/ Heather Roemer, as attorney-in-fact for Norman Jerome Vascocu, Jr.	02/14/2025
	** 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).
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