First Business Financial Services, Inc. (NASDAQ:FBIZ) Sees Large Drop in Short Interest

First Business Financial Services, Inc. (NASDAQ:FBIZ - Get Free Report) 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. Approximately 0.4% of the company's stock are sold short. Based on an average trading volume of 18,200 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 1.4 days.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on FBIZ shares. Piper Sandler lifted their price target on shares of First Business Financial Services from $44.00 to $56.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday, July 29th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods restated an "outperform" rating and issued a $51.00 target price (up previously from $48.00) on shares of First Business Financial Services in a research report on Monday, July 29th. StockNews.com raised shares of First Business Financial Services from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, August 1st. Finally, DA Davidson upgraded shares of First Business Financial Services from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $36.00 to $50.00 in a report on Monday, August 5th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $50.75.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Squarepoint Ops LLC bought a new position in shares of First Business Financial Services during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $204,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its stake in shares of First Business Financial Services by 1.5% in the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 537,808 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $19,893,000 after acquiring an additional 7,871 shares during the last quarter. First Business Financial Services Inc. boosted its stake 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 buying an additional 4,196 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its position in 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 valued at $1,402,000 after purchasing an additional 1,998 shares during the period. Finally, Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD raised its holdings in shares of First Business Financial Services by 2.8% in the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 18,946 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $711,000 after buying an additional 524 shares during the period. 60.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

First Business Financial Services Stock Up 2.3 %

Shares of First Business Financial Services stock traded up $1.01 on Friday, hitting $45.22. The company had a trading volume of 60,086 shares, compared to its average volume of 14,929. First Business Financial Services has a twelve month low of $28.35 and a twelve month high of $47.23. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $43.45 and a 200-day moving average of $37.99. The firm has a market capitalization of $374.83 million, a P/E ratio of 10.42 and a beta of 0.82. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.12, a current ratio of 1.08 and a quick ratio of 1.07.

First Business Financial Services (NASDAQ:FBIZ - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 25th. The financial services provider reported $1.23 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.09 by $0.14. First Business Financial Services had a net margin of 15.66% and a return on equity of 13.87%. The company had revenue of $65.34 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $36.73 million. Research analysts predict that First Business Financial Services will post 4.71 earnings per share for the current year.

First Business Financial Services Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, August 21st. Investors of record on Thursday, August 8th were issued a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.21%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, August 8th. First Business Financial Services's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 23.04%.

About First Business Financial Services

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.