Reviewing FS Bancorp (FSBW) & Its Peers

FS Bancorp (NASDAQ:FSBW) is one of 919 public companies in the “Banks” industry, but how does it contrast to its rivals? We will compare FS Bancorp to related companies based on the strength of its institutional ownership, risk, analyst recommendations, dividends, valuation, profitability and earnings.

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares FS Bancorp and its rivals gross revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Net Income	Price/Earnings Ratio
FS Bancorp	$153.47 million	$33.35 million	11.37
FS Bancorp Competitors	$37.81 billion	$2.42 billion	21.33

FS Bancorp’s rivals have higher revenue and earnings than FS Bancorp. FS Bancorp is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than its rivals, indicating that it is currently more affordable than other companies in its industry.

Profitability

This table compares FS Bancorp and its rivals’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
FS Bancorp	12.81%	9.39%	0.92%
FS Bancorp Competitors	15.64%	9.43%	0.93%

Analyst Ratings

This is a breakdown of recent recommendations for FS Bancorp and its rivals, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
FS Bancorp	0	3	1	0	2.25
FS Bancorp Competitors	7492	30250	27848	1488	2.35

FS Bancorp currently has a consensus target price of $45.00, indicating a potential upside of 4.41%. As a group, “Banks” companies have a potential upside of 14.27%. Given FS Bancorp’s rivals stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, analysts plainly believe FS Bancorp has less favorable growth aspects than its rivals.

Volatility and Risk

FS Bancorp has a beta of 0.7, indicating that its stock price is 30% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, FS Bancorp’s rivals have a beta of 0.52, indicating that their average stock price is 48% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Institutional & Insider Ownership

63.9% of FS Bancorp shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 47.8% of shares of all “Banks” companies are held by institutional investors. 12.9% of FS Bancorp shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 9.7% of shares of all “Banks” companies are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, endowments and hedge funds believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Dividends

FS Bancorp pays an annual dividend of $1.16 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.7%. FS Bancorp pays out 30.6% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. As a group, “Banks” companies pay a dividend yield of 8.9% and pay out 28.9% of their earnings in the form of a dividend. FS Bancorp has raised its dividend for 12 consecutive years. FS Bancorp lags its rivals as a dividend stock, given its lower dividend yield and higher payout ratio.

Summary

FS Bancorp rivals beat FS Bancorp on 12 of the 15 factors compared.

About FS Bancorp

FS Bancorp, Inc. is the bank holding company for 1st Security Bank of Washington, a community bank headquartered in Mountlake Terrace, Washington. The company serves individuals, families, small and midsized businesses, professionals, and community organizations through its banking and home lending operations. 1st Security Bank provides deposit products, residential and commercial real estate loans, construction and land development financing, commercial and industrial loans, consumer loans, and other traditional banking services.