First Business Financial Services, Inc. (NASDAQ:FBIZ) Short Interest Up 11.4% in November

First Business Financial Services, Inc. (NASDAQ:FBIZ) was the target of a significant increase in short interest in the month of 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. Based on an average daily volume of 22,500 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 0.9 days. Approximately 0.3% of the company’s shares are sold short.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Corey A. Chambas sold 40,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly 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 document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director William Kent Lorenz sold 1,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $49.00, for a total transaction of $49,000.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 8,341 shares in the company, valued at $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 sold a total of 47,344 shares of company stock valued at $2,275,144 over the last three months. Company insiders own 6.20% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On First Business Financial Services

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Segall Bryant & Hamill LLC bought a new stake in shares of First Business Financial Services during the 3rd quarter worth about $1,657,000. De Lisle Partners LLP lifted its position in First Business Financial Services by 43.3% during the third quarter. De Lisle Partners LLP now owns 66,774 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $3,040,000 after acquiring an additional 20,183 shares during the last quarter. First Business Financial Services Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of First Business Financial Services by 3.4% during the third quarter. First Business Financial Services Inc. now owns 365,912 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $16,682,000 after acquiring an additional 12,194 shares during the period. Fourthstone LLC bought a new stake in shares of First Business Financial Services during the third quarter worth approximately $389,000. Finally, Barclays PLC grew its position in shares of First Business Financial Services by 43.8% in the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 27,909 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,273,000 after purchasing an additional 8,497 shares during the last quarter. 60.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

First Business Financial Services Stock Performance

Shares of FBIZ opened at $49.85 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.16, a current ratio of 1.09 and a quick ratio of 1.08. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $46.34 and a 200-day moving average of $41.91. The company has a market cap of $413.51 million, a PE ratio of 10.70 and a beta of 0.86. First Business Financial Services has a one year low of $32.56 and a one year high of $52.22.

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 return on equity of 13.70% and a net margin of 15.46%. The firm had revenue of $66.39 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $38.80 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.17 earnings per share. As a group, equities 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 business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, November 20th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, November 7th were given a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, November 7th. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.01%. First Business Financial Services’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 21.46%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms recently weighed in on FBIZ. Piper Sandler decreased 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 report on Tuesday, October 29th. StockNews.com raised First Business Financial Services from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $50.00.

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.