Short Interest in First Business Financial Services, Inc. (NASDAQ:FBIZ) Increases By 13.6%

First Business Financial Services, Inc. (NASDAQ:FBIZ) was the recipient of a large growth in short interest in December. As of December 31st, there was short interest totalling 24,200 shares, a growth of 13.6% from the December 15th total of 21,300 shares. Approximately 0.3% of the shares of the stock are short sold. Based on an average daily volume of 27,300 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 0.9 days.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

FBIZ has been the subject of a number of research reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price objective on First Business Financial Services from $53.00 to $58.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of First Business Financial Services from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Finally, Piper Sandler cut their price objective on shares of First Business Financial Services from $56.00 to $53.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, October 29th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $51.75.

Insider Activity at First Business Financial Services

In other First Business Financial Services news, CEO Corey A. Chambas sold 40,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, November 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $48.81, for a total transaction of $1,952,400.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 112,750 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,503,327.50. This represents a 26.19 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director William Kent Lorenz sold 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $49.00, for a total value of $49,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 8,341 shares in the company, valued at $408,709. The trade was a 10.71 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 47,344 shares of company stock valued at $2,275,144 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 6.20% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On First Business Financial Services

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. SG Americas Securities LLC bought a new position in First Business Financial Services in the third quarter valued at approximately $125,000. ERn Financial LLC bought a new stake in First Business Financial Services in the 3rd quarter valued at $210,000. Creative Planning acquired a new position in First Business Financial Services in the 3rd quarter worth $216,000. Beese Fulmer Investment Management Inc. acquired a new position in First Business Financial Services in the 3rd quarter worth $217,000. Finally, Squarepoint Ops LLC bought a new position in First Business Financial Services during the 2nd quarter worth about $204,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 60.07% of the company’s stock.

First Business Financial Services Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:FBIZ opened at $45.95 on Monday. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $47.89 and its 200 day simple moving average is $44.75. First Business Financial Services has a fifty-two week low of $32.56 and a fifty-two week high of $52.22. The company has a market capitalization of $381.39 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.86 and a beta of 0.87. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.16, a current ratio of 1.09 and a quick ratio of 1.08.

First Business Financial Services (NASDAQ:FBIZ) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The financial services provider reported $1.24 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.20 by $0.04. First Business Financial Services had a net margin of 15.46% and a return on equity of 13.70%. The company had revenue of $66.39 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $38.80 million. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.17 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that First Business Financial Services will post 4.78 earnings per share for the current year.

First Business Financial Services Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, November 20th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, November 7th were issued a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, November 7th. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.18%. First Business Financial Services’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 21.46%.

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.