Short Interest in First Business Financial Services, Inc. (NASDAQ:FBIZ) Expands By 13.6%

First Business Financial Services, Inc. (NASDAQ:FBIZ - Get Free Report) was the recipient of a large growth in short interest in the month of December. As of December 31st, there was short interest totalling 24,200 shares, a growth of 13.6% from the December 15th total of 21,300 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 27,300 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 0.9 days. Approximately 0.3% of the shares of the company are sold short.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

FBIZ has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price objective on shares of First Business Financial Services from $53.00 to $58.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. Piper Sandler dropped their price objective on shares of First Business Financial Services from $56.00 to $53.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, October 29th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of First Business Financial Services from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to MarketBeat.com, First Business Financial Services has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $51.75.

Insider Activity at First Business Financial Services

In related news, CEO James Edward Hartlieb sold 6,344 shares of First Business Financial Services stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, October 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $43.15, for a total transaction of $273,743.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 28,162 shares in the company, valued at $1,215,190.30. The trade was a 18.39 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Corey A. Chambas sold 40,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Thursday, November 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $48.81, for a total value of $1,952,400.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now 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. Insiders have sold 47,344 shares of company stock worth $2,275,144 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 6.20% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On First Business Financial Services

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in FBIZ. SG Americas Securities LLC increased its stake in First Business Financial Services by 24.8% during the fourth quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 3,412 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $158,000 after acquiring an additional 679 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its stake in First Business Financial Services by 307.1% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 24,468 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,115,000 after acquiring an additional 18,458 shares during the period. Barclays PLC increased its stake in First Business Financial Services by 43.8% during the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 27,909 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,273,000 after acquiring an additional 8,497 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in First Business Financial Services by 1.3% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 173,404 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $7,907,000 after acquiring an additional 2,200 shares during the period. Finally, State Street Corp increased its stake in First Business Financial Services by 1.9% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 136,690 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $6,232,000 after acquiring an additional 2,607 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 60.07% of the company's stock.

First Business Financial Services Stock Up 1.2 %

Shares of NASDAQ FBIZ traded up $0.53 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $45.95. The company had a trading volume of 21,616 shares, compared to its average volume of 31,799. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.16, a quick ratio of 1.08 and a current ratio of 1.09. First Business Financial Services has a twelve month low of $32.56 and a twelve month high of $52.22. The stock's 50 day moving average is $47.89 and its 200-day moving average is $44.63. The stock has a market capitalization of $381.39 million, a PE ratio of 9.86 and a beta of 0.87.

First Business Financial Services (NASDAQ:FBIZ - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The financial services provider reported $1.24 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.20 by $0.04. First Business Financial Services had a net margin of 15.46% and a return on equity of 13.70%. The company had revenue of $66.39 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $38.80 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.17 EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that First Business Financial Services will post 4.78 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

First Business Financial Services Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, November 20th. Investors 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 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.18%. First Business Financial Services's dividend payout ratio is presently 21.46%.

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.