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

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

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO James Edward Hartlieb sold 6,344 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, October 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $43.15, for a total value of $273,743.60. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 28,162 shares in the company, valued at $1,215,190.30. This represents a 18.39 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, 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 $5,503,327.50. This trade represents a 26.19 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 6.30% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Lazard Asset Management LLC bought a new position in shares of First Business Financial Services in the first quarter worth about $60,000. SG Americas Securities LLC bought a new position in First Business Financial Services in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $125,000. BNP Paribas Financial Markets boosted its position 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 valued at $147,000 after acquiring an additional 1,659 shares during the period. Squarepoint Ops LLC acquired a new stake in shares of First Business Financial Services in the second quarter worth $204,000. Finally, ERn Financial LLC bought a new position in First Business Financial Services during the third quarter worth $210,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 60.07% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on FBIZ shares. 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 report on Tuesday, October 29th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $51.00 price objective (up previously from $48.00) on shares of First Business Financial Services in a research report on Monday, July 29th. StockNews.com raised First Business Financial Services from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Finally, DA Davidson upgraded First Business Financial Services from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $36.00 to $50.00 in a report on Monday, August 5th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $50.00.

First Business Financial Services Trading Down 0.2 %

First Business Financial Services stock opened at $49.82 on Friday. First Business Financial Services has a one year low of $32.56 and a one year high of $51.92. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $44.84 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $40.55. 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 company has a market capitalization of $413.51 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.69 and a beta of 0.83.

First Business Financial Services (NASDAQ:FBIZ) last issued 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. The business had revenue of $66.39 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $38.80 million. First Business Financial Services had a return on equity of 13.70% and a net margin of 15.46%. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.17 EPS. On average, analysts forecast 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 announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 20th. Investors of record on Thursday, November 7th will be paid a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, November 7th. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.01%. First Business Financial Services’s payout ratio is presently 21.46%.

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.