Empowered Funds LLC Makes New Investment in FS Bancorp, Inc. $FSBW

Key Points

• Empowered Funds LLC acquired 41,313 FS Bancorp shares worth approximately $1.79 million, while several other institutional investors also initiated positions. Institutional ownership reached 63.88%.
• Analyst sentiment is mixed, with one Buy, two Hold, and one Sell rating; the consensus rating is Hold with a $45 price target. FS Bancorp recently reported quarterly EPS of $1.08, matching estimates.
• FS Bancorp declared a quarterly dividend of $0.29 per share, equivalent to an annualized $1.16 payout and a 2.7% yield. The stock opened at $43.41 and trades near the middle of its $36.66–$45.85 one-year range.

Empowered Funds LLC acquired a new position in shares of FS Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:FSBW - Free Report) in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 41,313 shares of the bank's stock, valued at approximately $1,793,000. Empowered Funds LLC owned 0.56% of FS Bancorp at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Bank of America Corp DE acquired a new position in shares of FS Bancorp in the 2nd quarter valued at $212,000. Legal & General Group Plc acquired a new stake in FS Bancorp during the 2nd quarter worth about $26,000. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. acquired a new stake in FS Bancorp during the 2nd quarter worth about $893,000. De Lisle Partners LLP purchased a new stake in FS Bancorp during the 2nd quarter valued at about $16,956,000. Finally, BlackRock Inc. purchased a new stake in FS Bancorp during the 2nd quarter valued at about $21,213,000. 63.88% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. DA Davidson restated a "neutral" rating and issued a $45.00 price objective on shares of FS Bancorp in a research note on Wednesday, July 22nd. Weiss Ratings upgraded FS Bancorp from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "buy (b)" rating in a research report on Monday, June 29th. Brean Capital downgraded shares of FS Bancorp from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $45.00 price target on the stock. in a report on Monday, July 27th. Finally, Zacks Research lowered shares of FS Bancorp from a "hold" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 28th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $45.00.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Terri Degner sold 1,694 shares of FS Bancorp stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $42.72, for a total transaction of $72,367.68. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 2,175 shares in the company, valued at approximately $92,916. This trade represents a 43.78% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 12.90% of the company's stock.

FS Bancorp Price Performance

NASDAQ:FSBW opened at $43.41 on Friday. FS Bancorp, Inc. has a one year low of $36.66 and a one year high of $45.85. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.17, a quick ratio of 1.09 and a current ratio of 1.10. The firm has a market cap of $322.54 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.00 and a beta of 0.66. The firm's fifty day moving average is $43.22 and its two-hundred day moving average is $41.44.

FS Bancorp (NASDAQ:FSBW - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 21st. The bank reported $1.08 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting analysts' consensus estimates of $1.08. The business had revenue of $5.24 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $38.00 million. FS Bancorp had a return on equity of 10.86% and a net margin of 14.88%. Research analysts expect that FS Bancorp, Inc. will post 4.34 EPS for the current year.

FS Bancorp Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 21st. Investors of record on Friday, August 7th were issued a dividend of $0.29 per share. This represents a $1.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 7th. FS Bancorp's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 26.73%.

About FS Bancorp

FS Bancorp, Inc NASDAQ: FSBW is a bank holding company headquartered in Illinois that provides community banking services in the Midwestern United States. Through its wholly owned banking subsidiary, the company offers a full suite of deposit products, including checking and savings accounts, money market instruments, certificates of deposit and online banking platforms.

On the lending side, FS Bancorp extends commercial and industrial loans, residential mortgage financing, consumer credit and agricultural lending.

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