Short Interest in First Business Financial Services, Inc. (NASDAQ:FBIZ) Declines By 10.2%

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of FBIZ. Vista Investment Management increased its stake in First Business Financial Services by 0.6% during the 4th quarter. Vista Investment Management now owns 52,410 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,102,000 after purchasing an additional 301 shares in the last quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets increased its stake in shares of First Business Financial Services by 73.1% in the first quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 3,930 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $147,000 after acquiring an additional 1,659 shares during the period. Empowered Funds LLC increased its stake in shares of First Business Financial Services by 7.8% in the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 41,101 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,541,000 after acquiring an additional 2,975 shares during the period. Pacific Ridge Capital Partners LLC increased its stake in shares of First Business Financial Services by 1.7% in the first quarter. Pacific Ridge Capital Partners LLC now owns 169,903 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $6,371,000 after acquiring an additional 2,894 shares during the period. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of First Business Financial Services by 2.1% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 361,070 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $13,540,000 after acquiring an additional 7,499 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 60.07% of the company’s stock.

First Business Financial Services Stock Down 4.7 %

NASDAQ:FBIZ traded down $2.12 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $43.47. 23,130 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 15,003. First Business Financial Services has a 12-month low of $28.35 and a 12-month high of $47.23. The business has a 50-day moving average of $43.54 and a two-hundred day moving average of $38.09. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.12, a quick ratio of 1.07 and a current ratio of 1.08. The stock has a market capitalization of $360.28 million, a PE ratio of 10.12 and a beta of 0.82.

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

First Business Financial Services Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, August 21st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, August 8th were paid a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, August 8th. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.30%. First Business Financial Services’s payout ratio is 23.04%.

First Business Financial Services Company Profile

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.