Raymond James Issues Positive Forecast for First Business Financial Services (NASDAQ:FBIZ) Stock Price

First Business Financial Services (NASDAQ:FBIZ) had its price objective raised by Raymond James from $52.00 to $62.00 in a research note published on Monday,Benzinga reports. Raymond James currently has an outperform rating on the financial services provider’s stock.

Several other equities research analysts have also recently weighed in on the stock. Piper Sandler decreased their price objective on shares of First Business Financial Services from $56.00 to $53.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, October 29th. StockNews.com downgraded First Business Financial Services from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their target price on First Business Financial Services from $58.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $56.25.

First Business Financial Services Price Performance

FBIZ stock opened at $52.51 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $435.83 million, a P/E ratio of 10.06 and a beta of 0.88. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $47.48 and a 200-day moving average price of $45.48. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.16, a quick ratio of 1.08 and a current ratio of 1.09. First Business Financial Services has a 52-week low of $32.56 and a 52-week high of $53.79.

First Business Financial Services (NASDAQ:FBIZ) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The financial services provider reported $1.43 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.27 by $0.16. First Business Financial Services had a return on equity of 14.33% and a net margin of 16.86%. As a group, equities analysts expect that First Business Financial Services will post 5.24 EPS for the current year.

First Business Financial Services Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 14th will be issued a $0.29 dividend. This represents a $1.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.21%. This is a positive change from First Business Financial Services’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. First Business Financial Services’s dividend payout ratio is presently 19.16%.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director William Kent Lorenz sold 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $49.00, for a total value of $49,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 8,341 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $408,709. This represents a 10.71 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Corey A. Chambas sold 40,000 shares of First Business Financial Services stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, November 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $48.81, for a total value of $1,952,400.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 112,750 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,503,327.50. The trade was a 26.19 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 6.20% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On First Business Financial Services

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Squarepoint Ops LLC bought a new position in shares of First Business Financial Services during the second quarter valued at about $204,000. SG Americas Securities LLC purchased a new position in shares of First Business Financial Services in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $125,000. Creative Planning bought a new position in shares of First Business Financial Services in the third quarter valued at approximately $216,000. ERn Financial LLC purchased a new stake in shares of First Business Financial Services during the third quarter valued at approximately $210,000. Finally, Beese Fulmer Investment Management Inc. purchased a new position in First Business Financial Services in the third quarter worth $217,000. 60.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.