First Business Financial Services, Inc. (NASDAQ:FBIZ) Short Interest Update

First Business Financial Services, Inc. (NASDAQ:FBIZ) was the recipient of a large decline in short interest in September. As of September 15th, there was short interest totalling 25,500 shares, a decline of 10.2% from the August 31st total of 28,400 shares. Currently, 0.4% of the company’s stock are short sold. Based on an average daily volume of 18,200 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 1.4 days.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On First Business Financial Services

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Squarepoint Ops LLC purchased a new stake in shares of First Business Financial Services in the 2nd quarter worth $204,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its holdings in First Business Financial Services by 1.5% in the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 537,808 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $19,893,000 after buying an additional 7,871 shares during the period. First Business Financial Services Inc. boosted its holdings in First Business Financial Services by 1.2% in the 2nd quarter. First Business Financial Services Inc. now owns 353,718 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $13,084,000 after buying an additional 4,196 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its holdings in First Business Financial Services by 5.6% in the 2nd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 37,891 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,402,000 after buying an additional 1,998 shares during the period. Finally, Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD boosted its holdings in First Business Financial Services by 2.8% in the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 18,946 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $711,000 after buying an additional 524 shares during the period. 60.07% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

First Business Financial Services Stock Performance

FBIZ traded up $1.01 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $45.22. 60,086 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 14,929. The stock has a market capitalization of $374.83 million, a P/E ratio of 10.42 and a beta of 0.82. The company has a quick ratio of 1.07, a current ratio of 1.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.12. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $43.45 and its 200-day moving average price is $37.99. First Business Financial Services has a 52-week low of $28.35 and a 52-week high of $47.23.

First Business Financial Services (NASDAQ:FBIZ) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, July 25th. The financial services provider reported $1.23 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.09 by $0.14. The business had revenue of $65.34 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $36.73 million. First Business Financial Services had a net margin of 15.66% and a return on equity of 13.87%. On average, sell-side analysts expect that First Business Financial Services will post 4.71 EPS for the current year.

First Business Financial Services Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, August 21st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 8th were paid a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, August 8th. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.21%. First Business Financial Services’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 23.04%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on FBIZ. DA Davidson upgraded shares of First Business Financial Services from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $36.00 to $50.00 in a report on Monday, August 5th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of First Business Financial Services from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, August 1st. Piper Sandler boosted their price objective on shares of First Business Financial Services from $44.00 to $56.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, July 29th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $51.00 price objective (up from $48.00) on shares of First Business Financial Services in a report on Monday, July 29th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to data from MarketBeat.com, First Business Financial Services presently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $50.75.

About First Business Financial Services

First Business Financial Services, Inc operates as the bank holding company for First Business Bank that provides commercial banking products and services for small and medium-sized businesses, business owners, executives, professionals, and high net worth individuals in Wisconsin, Kansas, and Missouri.