FS Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:FSBW) Short Interest Down 21.3% in January

FS Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:FSBW - Get Free Report) was the target of a significant drop in short interest in the month of January. As of January 31st, there was short interest totalling 41,800 shares, a drop of 21.3% from the January 15th total of 53,100 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 15,900 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 2.6 days.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Separately, StockNews.com lowered shares of FS Bancorp from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd.

FS Bancorp Stock Up 0.6 %

Shares of FSBW traded up $0.25 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $39.26. The company had a trading volume of 12,013 shares, compared to its average volume of 15,400. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74, a quick ratio of 1.04 and a current ratio of 1.06. The company has a market capitalization of $307.01 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.92 and a beta of 0.95. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $40.96 and a 200 day moving average price of $43.10. FS Bancorp has a 52 week low of $30.64 and a 52 week high of $49.15.

FS Bancorp (NASDAQ:FSBW - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, January 21st. The bank reported $0.92 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.04 by ($0.12). FS Bancorp had a return on equity of 12.35% and a net margin of 16.97%. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that FS Bancorp will post 4.26 EPS for the current year.

FS Bancorp Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, February 20th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, February 6th will be paid a dividend of $0.28 per share. This is a positive change from FS Bancorp's previous quarterly dividend of $0.27. This represents a $1.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.85%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, February 6th. FS Bancorp's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 25.45%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC raised its holdings in FS Bancorp by 354.0% in the 4th quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 1,026 shares of the bank's stock worth $42,000 after acquiring an additional 800 shares during the last quarter. Copeland Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of FS Bancorp in the third quarter worth $62,000. SG Americas Securities LLC bought a new position in shares of FS Bancorp during the third quarter valued at $103,000. Wells Fargo & Company MN boosted its position in shares of FS Bancorp by 27.8% during the fourth quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN now owns 3,909 shares of the bank's stock valued at $161,000 after buying an additional 851 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Advisors Asset Management Inc. increased its holdings in FS Bancorp by 165.1% in the 3rd quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. now owns 4,146 shares of the bank's stock worth $184,000 after buying an additional 2,582 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 63.88% of the company's stock.

FS Bancorp Company Profile

FS Bancorp, Inc operates as a bank holding company for 1st Security Bank of Washington that provides banking and financial services to local families, local and regional businesses, and industry niches. The company operates in two segments, Commercial and Consumer Banking; and Home Lending. It offers various deposit instruments, including checking accounts, money market deposit accounts, savings accounts, and certificates of deposit.