16,230 Shares in FS Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:FSBW) Purchased by Royce & Associates LP

Key Points

• Royce & Associates LP invested approximately $617,000 in FS Bancorp by acquiring 16,230 shares, representing a 0.21% stake in the company.
• FS Bancorp recently announced a quarterly dividend of $0.28, yielding 2.77%, with a payout ratio of 26.60%.
• Analysts have raised FS Bancorp's rating from "sell" to "hold" and adjusted the target price from $41.00 to $44.00 following its latest earnings report.

Royce & Associates LP acquired a new stake in FS Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:FSBW - Free Report) in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm acquired 16,230 shares of the bank's stock, valued at approximately $617,000. Royce & Associates LP owned 0.21% of FS Bancorp as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the business. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC grew its stake in FS Bancorp by 354.0% during the 4th quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 1,026 shares of the bank's stock worth $42,000 after purchasing an additional 800 shares in the last quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN lifted its stake in FS Bancorp by 27.8% in the fourth quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN now owns 3,909 shares of the bank's stock worth $161,000 after acquiring an additional 851 shares during the last quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in FS Bancorp by 55.5% during the 4th quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 4,190 shares of the bank's stock worth $172,000 after acquiring an additional 1,495 shares in the last quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets increased its position in shares of FS Bancorp by 23.6% in the 4th quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 5,728 shares of the bank's stock valued at $235,000 after purchasing an additional 1,094 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE raised its holdings in shares of FS Bancorp by 45.3% in the 4th quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 7,097 shares of the bank's stock valued at $291,000 after purchasing an additional 2,213 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 63.88% of the company's stock.

FS Bancorp Stock Performance

NASDAQ FSBW traded down $1.25 on Friday, reaching $37.84. The stock had a trading volume of 18,572 shares, compared to its average volume of 15,739. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40, a quick ratio of 0.99 and a current ratio of 1.00. The stock has a market cap of $291.25 million, a P/E ratio of 8.99 and a beta of 0.71. The business's 50-day moving average price is $39.93 and its 200 day moving average price is $39.27. FS Bancorp, Inc. has a 12-month low of $34.61 and a 12-month high of $49.15.

FS Bancorp (NASDAQ:FSBW - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 22nd. The bank reported $0.99 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.97 by $0.02. FS Bancorp had a net margin of 15.88% and a return on equity of 11.35%. The company had revenue of $37.28 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $36.55 million. As a group, equities analysts expect that FS Bancorp, Inc. will post 4.26 earnings per share for the current year.

FS Bancorp Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 21st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 7th will be paid a dividend of $0.28 per share. This represents a $1.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.0%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 7th. FS Bancorp's dividend payout ratio is 26.60%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts recently commented on the company. Wall Street Zen raised FS Bancorp from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, May 22nd. DA Davidson raised their target price on FS Bancorp from $41.00 to $44.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 24th.

About FS Bancorp

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.