Short Interest in First Business Financial Services, Inc. (NASDAQ:FBIZ) Declines By 18.6%

First Business Financial Services, Inc. (NASDAQ:FBIZ) was the recipient of a large decline in short interest in the month of October. As of October 31st, there was short interest totalling 18,400 shares, a decline of 18.6% from the October 15th total of 22,600 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 19,800 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 0.9 days. Approximately 0.3% of the shares of the company are short sold.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

FBIZ has been the topic of several analyst reports. StockNews.com raised shares of First Business Financial Services from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 31st. DA Davidson raised shares of First Business Financial Services from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $36.00 to $50.00 in a research note on Monday, August 5th. Piper Sandler cut their target price on shares of 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. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods restated an “outperform” rating and set a $51.00 price target (up from $48.00) on shares of First Business Financial Services in a research report on Monday, July 29th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $50.00.

First Business Financial Services Trading Down 0.2 %

FBIZ opened at $49.82 on Friday. First Business Financial Services has a 1-year low of $32.56 and a 1-year high of $51.92. The stock has a market capitalization of $413.51 million, a PE ratio of 10.69 and a beta of 0.83. The company has a current ratio of 1.09, a quick ratio of 1.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.16. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $44.84 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $40.55.

First Business Financial Services (NASDAQ:FBIZ) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 24th. The financial services provider reported $1.24 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.20 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $66.39 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $38.80 million. First Business Financial Services had a net margin of 15.46% and a return on equity of 13.70%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.17 EPS. As a group, 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 company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 20th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, November 7th will be paid a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.01%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, November 7th. First Business Financial Services’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 21.46%.

Insider Buying and Selling at First Business Financial Services

In other First Business Financial Services news, CEO Corey A. Chambas sold 40,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 112,750 shares in the company, valued at $5,503,327.50. This trade represents a 26.19 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CEO James Edward Hartlieb sold 6,344 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, October 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $43.15, for a total value of $273,743.60. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 28,162 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,215,190.30. This represents a 18.39 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 6.30% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of First Business Financial Services

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in FBIZ. BNP Paribas Financial Markets boosted its stake in 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 valued at $147,000 after acquiring an additional 1,659 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of First Business Financial Services by 2.1% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 361,070 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $13,540,000 after purchasing an additional 7,499 shares during the last quarter. Quadrature Capital Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of First Business Financial Services during the first quarter worth $247,000. Lazard Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in First Business Financial Services in the first quarter valued at about $60,000. Finally, Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD increased its holdings in First Business Financial Services by 2.8% in the first quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 18,946 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $711,000 after purchasing an additional 524 shares during the last quarter. 60.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.