Short Interest in First Business Financial Services, Inc. (NASDAQ:FBIZ) Declines By 10.2%

First Business Financial Services, Inc. (NASDAQ:FBIZ) was the target of a significant drop in short interest in September. As of September 15th, there was short interest totalling 25,500 shares, a drop of 10.2% from the August 31st total of 28,400 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 18,200 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 1.4 days. Currently, 0.4% of the shares of the stock are sold short.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have issued reports on the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $51.00 price objective (up from $48.00) on shares of First Business Financial Services in a report on Monday, July 29th. DA Davidson raised shares of First Business Financial Services from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $36.00 to $50.00 in a report on Monday, August 5th. Piper Sandler increased their price objective on shares of First Business Financial Services from $44.00 to $56.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, July 29th. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of First Business Financial Services from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, August 1st. Five analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $50.75.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On First Business Financial Services

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of FBIZ. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its position in First Business Financial Services by 1.5% during the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 537,808 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $19,893,000 after purchasing an additional 7,871 shares during the last quarter. 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 purchasing an additional 7,499 shares during the last quarter. Quadrature Capital Ltd acquired a new stake in First Business Financial Services during the first quarter worth about $247,000. Squarepoint Ops LLC acquired a new stake in First Business Financial Services during the second quarter worth about $204,000. Finally, First Business Financial Services Inc. increased its position in First Business Financial Services by 1.2% during the second quarter. First Business Financial Services Inc. now owns 353,718 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $13,084,000 after purchasing 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 Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:FBIZ traded down $2.12 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $43.47. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 23,130 shares, compared to its average volume of 15,003. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $43.54 and its 200 day simple moving average is $38.09. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.12, a quick ratio of 1.07 and a current ratio of 1.08. The company has a market cap of $360.28 million, a P/E ratio of 10.12 and a beta of 0.82. First Business Financial Services has a 12-month low of $28.35 and a 12-month high of $47.23.

First Business Financial Services (NASDAQ:FBIZ) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 25th. The financial services provider reported $1.23 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.09 by $0.14. The firm had revenue of $65.34 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $36.73 million. First Business Financial Services had a net margin of 15.66% and a return on equity of 13.87%. On average, analysts forecast that First Business Financial Services will post 4.71 EPS for the current year.

First Business Financial Services Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, August 21st. Investors of record on Thursday, August 8th were given a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.30%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, August 8th. First Business Financial Services’s payout ratio is currently 23.04%.

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.