Short Interest in FS Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:FSBW) Rises By 5.4%

FS Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:FSBW) was the target of a large increase in short interest during the month of October. As of October 15th, there was short interest totalling 41,000 shares, an increase of 5.4% from the September 30th total of 38,900 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 17,600 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 2.3 days.

FS Bancorp Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ FSBW opened at $42.90 on Friday. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $43.81 and its 200-day moving average price is $38.59. FS Bancorp has a 1-year low of $28.07 and a 1-year high of $47.01. The firm has a market capitalization of $332.39 million, a P/E ratio of 9.11 and a beta of 0.93. 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 (NASDAQ:FSBW) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, October 22nd. The bank reported $1.29 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.14 by $0.15. The firm had revenue of $53.01 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $37.10 million. FS Bancorp had a net margin of 18.28% and a return on equity of 13.58%. Equities research analysts anticipate that FS Bancorp will post 4.56 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

FS Bancorp Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, November 21st. Investors of record on Thursday, November 7th will be given a $0.27 dividend. This represents a $1.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.52%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, November 7th. FS Bancorp’s payout ratio is presently 22.93%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

FSBW has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. StockNews.com downgraded FS Bancorp from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. DA Davidson lifted their price target on shares of FS Bancorp from $34.00 to $44.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 25th.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On FS Bancorp

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. purchased a new stake in shares of FS Bancorp in the second quarter worth $900,000. TCW Group Inc. increased its position in FS Bancorp by 0.6% during the 2nd quarter. TCW Group Inc. now owns 290,242 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $10,579,000 after purchasing an additional 1,706 shares during the period. Lazard Asset Management LLC grew its position in shares of FS Bancorp by 64.5% in the 1st quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 2,288 shares of the bank’s stock worth $79,000 after buying an additional 897 shares during the last quarter. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in FS Bancorp by 4.3% in the 1st quarter. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC now owns 7,734 shares of the bank’s stock worth $268,000 after purchasing an additional 320 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its stake in FS Bancorp by 4.7% during the 2nd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 61,221 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $2,231,000 after acquiring an additional 2,761 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 63.88% of the company’s stock.

FS Bancorp Company Profile

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.