Short Interest in FS Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:FSBW) Grows By 5.4%

FS Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:FSBW - Get Free Report) saw a significant increase in short interest in the month of October. As of October 15th, there was short interest totalling 41,000 shares, an increase of 5.4% from the September 30th total of 38,900 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 17,600 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 2.3 days.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On FS Bancorp

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. bought a new stake in shares of FS Bancorp in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $900,000. Agate Pass Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in FS Bancorp during the second quarter worth about $382,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its stake in FS Bancorp by 1.0% during the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 395,126 shares of the bank's stock worth $14,401,000 after buying an additional 3,811 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its holdings in shares of FS Bancorp by 4.7% during the second quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 61,221 shares of the bank's stock worth $2,231,000 after buying an additional 2,761 shares in the last quarter. Finally, BNP Paribas Financial Markets raised its stake in shares of FS Bancorp by 25.6% in the first quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 12,710 shares of the bank's stock valued at $441,000 after acquiring an additional 2,590 shares during the last quarter. 63.88% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

FS Bancorp Price Performance

FS Bancorp stock traded down $1.21 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $43.76. The company's stock had a trading volume of 6,567 shares, compared to its average volume of 15,066. The stock's 50-day moving average price is $43.82 and its 200-day moving average price is $38.47. FS Bancorp has a 12 month low of $28.07 and a 12 month high of $47.01. The company has a market capitalization of $341.15 million, a PE ratio of 9.82 and a beta of 0.93. The company has a quick ratio of 1.06, a current ratio of 1.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.81.

FS Bancorp (NASDAQ:FSBW - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, October 22nd. The bank reported $1.29 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.14 by $0.15. FS Bancorp had a return on equity of 13.58% and a net margin of 18.28%. The firm had revenue of $53.01 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $37.10 million. Analysts anticipate that FS Bancorp will post 4.44 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

FS Bancorp Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, November 21st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, November 7th will be paid a $0.27 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, November 7th. This represents a $1.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.47%. FS Bancorp's payout ratio is 23.58%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on FSBW. DA Davidson increased their price objective on shares of FS Bancorp from $34.00 to $44.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 25th. StockNews.com downgraded FS Bancorp from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd.

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.