BFST vs PESI: Correlation
Business First Bancshares, Inc. (BFST) and Perma-Fix Environmental Services, Inc. (PESI) show a moderate relationship: their 3-year correlation of weekly returns is 0.42.
Data as of 2026-08-27 · refreshed every trading day · weekly returns · methodology
How correlated are BFST and PESI?
Over the past 3 years, BFST and PESI moved with a correlation of 0.42, which is moderate. The relationship has been stable: the 1-year correlation (0.33) sits close to the 3-year figure. Over 5 years the correlation is 0.23, and the annualized covariance of weekly returns is 746.3 %².
Within BFST's tracked universe of 19 assets, PESI comes in at #14 by 3-year correlation. The last year tells two different stories: PESI led by 35.8 percentage points, +25.6% for BFST against +61.4% for PESI. One caveat on sizing: PESI is 2.0 times as volatile as the other leg, so an equal-dollar split is far from equal-risk.
How is this computed?
Pearson correlation on weekly returns: ρ(A,B) = cov(rA, rB) / (σA · σB), over windows of 52, 156 and 260 weeks. Covariance is annualized (×52) and expressed in %². Full definitions on the methodology page.
BFST vs PESI: side by side
| BFST (Business First Bancshares, Inc.) | PESI (Perma-Fix Environmental Services, Inc.) | |
|---|---|---|
| 1-year return | +25.6% | +61.4% |
| 5-year return | +47.5% | +234.5% |
| Volatility (ann.) | 29.7% | 59.3% |
| Beta vs S&P 500 | 0.82 | 1.10 |
| Max drawdown (3Y) | -27.3% | -58.0% |
| Market cap | $1.0B | $0.4B |
| P/E (trailing) | 11.1 | – |
| Dividend yield | 1.93% | 0.00% |
| Sector / category | US Listed | US Listed |
Year-by-year returns
| Year | BFST | PESI |
|---|---|---|
| 2022 | -20.2% | -44.2% |
| 2023 | +14.4% | +122.7% |
| 2024 | +6.9% | +40.8% |
| 2025 | +4.0% | +13.7% |
| 2026 | +21.3% | +53.3% |
Calendar-year price returns; the current year is year-to-date as of the data date above.
Are BFST and PESI good diversifiers for each other?
Reasonably. At 0.42, BFST and PESI keep a meaningful degree of independence, and combining them has historically reduced portfolio volatility.
FAQ
What is the correlation between BFST and PESI?
As of 2026-08-27, the correlation of weekly returns between BFST and PESI is 0.42 over 3 years, 0.33 over 1 year and 0.23 over 5 years.
Is PESI a good diversifier for BFST?
Reasonably. At 0.42, BFST and PESI keep a meaningful degree of independence, and combining them has historically reduced portfolio volatility.
What does a correlation of 0.42 mean?
On the −1 to +1 scale, 0.42 describes how much the two returns move together: +1 is lockstep, 0 is independence, negative values mean opposite directions. It says nothing about which performed better.
Use this data
$ curl https://www.pairbook.io/api/v1/pairs/bfst-vs-pesi.json
Markdown for the live badge, attribution link included:
[](https://www.pairbook.io/pair/bfst-vs-pesi/)
No key needed, free to use. Full endpoint list in the API documentation.
Related comparisons
Hubs: BFST correlations · PESI correlations
