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

First Business Financial Services, Inc. (NASDAQ:FBIZ) was the recipient of a significant increase in short interest during 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. Currently, 0.3% of the shares of the company are short sold. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 22,500 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 0.9 days.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO James Edward Hartlieb sold 6,344 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, October 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $43.15, for a total value of $273,743.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 28,162 shares in the company, valued at $1,215,190.30. This trade represents a 18.39 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director William Kent Lorenz sold 1,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 directly owns 8,341 shares in the company, valued at $408,709. This 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 quarter. 6.30% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On First Business Financial Services

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in FBIZ. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in First Business Financial Services by 2.1% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 361,070 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $13,540,000 after buying an additional 7,499 shares during the last quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in First Business Financial Services during the first quarter valued at approximately $60,000. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD raised its position in shares of 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 period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its stake in shares of First Business Financial Services by 5.6% in the second quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 37,891 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,402,000 after buying an additional 1,998 shares during the last quarter. Finally, First Business Financial Services Inc. grew its stake in First Business Financial Services by 1.2% in the 2nd quarter. First Business Financial Services Inc. now owns 353,718 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $13,084,000 after buying an additional 4,196 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

NASDAQ FBIZ traded up $0.22 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $50.34. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 3,146 shares, compared to its average volume of 16,613. 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 business has a 50-day simple moving average of $46.11 and a 200 day simple moving average of $41.69. The stock has a market cap of $417.82 million, a PE ratio of 10.66 and a beta of 0.83. First Business Financial Services has a 52 week low of $32.56 and a 52 week high of $52.22.

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, beating the consensus estimate of $1.20 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $66.39 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates 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 last year, the firm posted $1.17 EPS. Equities research analysts predict that First Business Financial Services will post 4.78 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

First Business Financial Services Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, November 20th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, November 7th were given a $0.25 dividend. 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 payout ratio is 21.46%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

FBIZ has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. StockNews.com raised shares of First Business Financial Services from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Piper Sandler decreased their price target on First Business Financial Services from $56.00 to $53.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, October 29th. Finally, DA Davidson upgraded shares of First Business Financial Services from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $36.00 to $50.00 in a research note on Monday, August 5th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $50.00.

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.