First Business Financial Services, Inc. (NASDAQ:FBIZ) Short Interest Update

First Business Financial Services, Inc. (NASDAQ:FBIZ) was the target of a significant increase in short interest in November. As of November 15th, there was short interest totalling 20,500 shares, an increase of 11.4% from the October 31st total of 18,400 shares. Currently, 0.3% of the shares of the company are sold short. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 22,500 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 0.9 days.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts recently issued reports on FBIZ shares. Piper Sandler reduced their price target on First Business Financial Services from $56.00 to $53.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, October 29th. 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, DA Davidson raised First Business Financial Services from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price target for the company from $36.00 to $50.00 in a research note on Monday, August 5th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $50.00.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO Corey A. Chambas sold 40,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, November 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $48.81, for a total transaction of $1,952,400.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 112,750 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,503,327.50. This represents a 26.19 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director William Kent Lorenz sold 1,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the director now owns 8,341 shares in the company, valued at approximately $408,709. This trade represents a 10.71 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 47,344 shares of company stock valued at $2,275,144 over the last three months. 6.30% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of First Business Financial Services

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its stake in First Business Financial Services by 1.5% during the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 537,808 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $19,893,000 after acquiring an additional 7,871 shares during the last quarter. First Business Financial Services Inc. increased its position in shares of First Business Financial Services by 3.4% during the 3rd quarter. First Business Financial Services Inc. now owns 365,912 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $16,682,000 after purchasing an additional 12,194 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in First Business Financial Services by 2.1% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 361,070 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $13,540,000 after buying an additional 7,499 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in First Business Financial Services by 1.3% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 173,404 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $7,907,000 after buying an additional 2,200 shares during the last quarter. Finally, State Street Corp increased its position in First Business Financial Services by 1.9% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 136,690 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $6,232,000 after acquiring an additional 2,607 shares during the last quarter. 60.07% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

First Business Financial Services Trading Up 0.4 %

Shares of NASDAQ:FBIZ traded up $0.22 on Monday, hitting $50.34. The company had a trading volume of 3,146 shares, compared to its average volume of 16,613. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $46.11 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $41.69. The firm has a market capitalization of $417.82 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.66 and a beta of 0.83. The company has a quick ratio of 1.08, a current ratio of 1.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.16. First Business Financial Services has a 1 year low of $32.56 and a 1 year high of $52.22.

First Business Financial Services (NASDAQ:FBIZ) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 24th. The financial services provider reported $1.24 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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 business had revenue of $66.39 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $38.80 million. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.17 EPS. Equities analysts anticipate that First Business Financial Services will post 4.78 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

First Business Financial Services Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, November 20th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, November 7th were issued a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, November 7th. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.99%. First Business Financial Services’s dividend payout ratio is currently 21.46%.

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.