Short Interest in FS Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:FSBW) Decreases By 9.7%

FS Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:FSBW) was the target of a large decrease in short interest in the month of November. As of November 30th, there was short interest totalling 40,200 shares, a decrease of 9.7% from the November 15th total of 44,500 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 17,800 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 2.3 days.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On FS Bancorp

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Copeland Capital Management LLC bought a new position in shares of FS Bancorp during the 3rd quarter worth about $62,000. SG Americas Securities LLC bought a new position in shares of FS Bancorp during the 3rd quarter worth about $103,000. Advisors Asset Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of FS Bancorp by 165.1% during the 3rd quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. now owns 4,146 shares of the bank’s stock worth $184,000 after acquiring an additional 2,582 shares during the period. Rhumbline Advisers lifted its holdings in shares of FS Bancorp by 4.4% during the 2nd quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 10,197 shares of the bank’s stock worth $372,000 after acquiring an additional 434 shares during the period. Finally, Jane Street Group LLC lifted its holdings in shares of FS Bancorp by 43.9% during the 3rd quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 8,784 shares of the bank’s stock worth $391,000 after acquiring an additional 2,678 shares during the period. 63.88% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Separately, StockNews.com downgraded shares of FS Bancorp from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd.

FS Bancorp Stock Performance

FS Bancorp stock traded down $0.34 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $45.06. The company had a trading volume of 14,524 shares, compared to its average volume of 15,275. The company has a quick ratio of 1.04, a current ratio of 1.06 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74. FS Bancorp has a 52 week low of $30.64 and a 52 week high of $49.15. The company has a 50 day moving average of $45.54 and a 200-day moving average of $41.86. The firm has a market cap of $352.23 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.57 and a beta of 0.94.

FS Bancorp (NASDAQ:FSBW) last issued its quarterly 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. FS Bancorp had a net margin of 18.28% and a return on equity of 13.42%. The firm had revenue of $53.01 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $37.10 million. On average, sell-side analysts expect that FS Bancorp will post 4.52 EPS for the current fiscal year.

FS Bancorp Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, November 21st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, November 7th were issued a $0.27 dividend. This represents a $1.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.40%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, November 7th. FS Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 22.93%.

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.