FS Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:FSBW) Short Interest Up 21.9% in September

FS Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:FSBW) was the recipient of a significant growth in short interest during the month of September. As of September 30th, there was short interest totalling 38,900 shares, a growth of 21.9% from the September 15th total of 31,900 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 19,900 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 2.0 days.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On FS Bancorp

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. BNP Paribas Financial Markets grew its holdings in FS Bancorp by 25.6% during the first quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 12,710 shares of the bank’s stock worth $441,000 after acquiring an additional 2,590 shares during the period. Empowered Funds LLC increased its holdings in shares of FS Bancorp by 8.1% during the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 30,437 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $1,056,000 after purchasing an additional 2,275 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of FS Bancorp by 0.6% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 403,704 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $14,013,000 after purchasing an additional 2,376 shares in the last quarter. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of FS Bancorp by 4.3% in the 1st quarter. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC now owns 7,734 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $268,000 after purchasing an additional 320 shares during the period. Finally, Lazard Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in FS Bancorp by 64.5% during the first quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 2,288 shares of the bank’s stock worth $79,000 after buying an additional 897 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 63.88% of the company’s stock.

FS Bancorp Stock Performance

FSBW opened at $43.44 on Monday. The company has a current ratio of 1.08, a quick ratio of 1.06 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.81. FS Bancorp has a 12-month low of $28.07 and a 12-month high of $47.01. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $42.90 and a two-hundred day moving average of $37.50. The firm has a market capitalization of $338.66 million, a PE ratio of 9.48 and a beta of 0.93.

FS Bancorp (NASDAQ:FSBW) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, July 23rd. The bank reported $1.13 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.03 by $0.10. FS Bancorp had a net margin of 18.05% and a return on equity of 13.40%. The firm had revenue of $51.81 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $35.40 million. On average, analysts anticipate that FS Bancorp will post 4.44 EPS for the current year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

FSBW has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. StockNews.com upgraded FS Bancorp from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, October 4th. DA Davidson increased their price objective on FS Bancorp from $34.00 to $44.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, July 25th.

About FS Bancorp

FS Bancorp, Inc operates as a bank holding company for 1st Security Bank of Washington that provides banking and financial services to local families, local and regional businesses, and industry niches. The company operates in two segments, Commercial and Consumer Banking; and Home Lending. It offers various deposit instruments, including checking accounts, money market deposit accounts, savings accounts, and certificates of deposit.