Raymond James Financial Initiates Coverage on First Business Financial Services (NASDAQ:FBIZ)

Key Points

• Raymond James initiated coverage of First Business Financial Services with an “outperform” rating and a $75 price target, implying 10.87% upside from the prior close.
• Analyst sentiment is broadly positive: the stock has an average “Buy” rating and a consensus price target of $78.25, with targets ranging from $74 to $84.
• First Business Financial Services recently exceeded quarterly expectations, reporting $1.84 in earnings per share versus the $1.56 consensus estimate and $46.71 million in revenue versus $45.42 million expected.

Equities research analysts at Raymond James Financial assumed coverage on shares of First Business Financial Services (NASDAQ:FBIZ - Get Free Report) in a report released on Thursday. The brokerage set an "outperform" rating and a $75.00 price target on the financial services provider's stock. Raymond James Financial's price target points to a potential upside of 10.87% from the stock's previous close.

A number of other analysts also recently weighed in on the company. Weiss Ratings restated a "buy (a-)" rating on shares of First Business Financial Services in a report on Friday, September 11th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and set a $74.00 target price (up from $68.00) on shares of First Business Financial Services in a report on Monday, August 3rd. Piper Sandler reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and set a $84.00 target price (up from $70.00) on shares of First Business Financial Services in a report on Monday, August 3rd. Finally, DA Davidson set a $80.00 price target on First Business Financial Services and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, August 3rd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and four have issued a Buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $78.25.

First Business Financial Services Price Performance

Shares of FBIZ traded down $1.30 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $67.65. The stock had a trading volume of 2,169 shares, compared to its average volume of 46,388. First Business Financial Services has a 12 month low of $46.07 and a 12 month high of $73.74. The stock has a market capitalization of $566.22 million, a PE ratio of 10.41 and a beta of 0.65. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.90, a quick ratio of 1.06 and a current ratio of 1.06. The company's 50-day moving average is $70.48 and its two-hundred day moving average is $62.61.

First Business Financial Services (NASDAQ:FBIZ - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The financial services provider reported $1.84 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.56 by $0.28. The company had revenue of $46.71 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $45.42 million. First Business Financial Services had a return on equity of 14.92% and a net margin of 19.28%. Research analysts expect that First Business Financial Services will post 6.56 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at First Business Financial Services

In related news, insider Jodi Chandler sold 675 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $70.19, for a total transaction of $47,378.25. Following the transaction, the insider owned 22,550 shares in the company, valued at $1,582,784.50. The trade was a 2.91% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 5.00% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On First Business Financial Services

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in FBIZ. BlackRock Inc. bought a new stake in First Business Financial Services in the 2nd quarter valued at about $58,646,000. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company bought a new position in First Business Financial Services in the second quarter worth approximately $15,351,000. De Lisle Partners LLP acquired a new stake in First Business Financial Services in the second quarter valued at approximately $6,258,000. Vista Investment Management acquired a new stake in First Business Financial Services in the second quarter valued at approximately $3,307,000. Finally, Empowered Funds LLC bought a new stake in shares of First Business Financial Services during the second quarter valued at approximately $2,853,000. Institutional investors own 60.07% of the company's stock.

First Business Financial Services Company Profile

First Business Financial Services, Inc is the holding company for First Business Bank, a full-service financial institution focused on serving privately held businesses, business owners, professionals and high-net-worth individuals. Through its banking subsidiary, the company provides commercial banking, business lending and deposit services tailored to the needs of small and middle-market companies.

Its products and services include commercial real estate and working-capital loans, equipment financing, lines of credit, treasury management, checking and savings accounts, certificates of deposit, and other business deposit products.

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