First Business Financial Services, Inc. (NASDAQ:FBIZ) Short Interest Update

First Business Financial Services, Inc. (NASDAQ:FBIZ - Get Free Report) was the target of a significant growth in short interest in March. As of March 15th, there was short interest totalling 43,300 shares, a growth of 10.7% from the February 29th total of 39,100 shares. Approximately 0.6% of the company's stock are short sold. Based on an average daily volume of 13,700 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 3.2 days.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On First Business Financial Services

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. BlackRock Inc. boosted its position in First Business Financial Services by 2.6% in the second quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 656,233 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $19,352,000 after buying an additional 16,568 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its position in First Business Financial Services by 1.2% in the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 533,531 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $16,278,000 after buying an additional 6,440 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in First Business Financial Services by 1.0% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 353,571 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $14,178,000 after buying an additional 3,563 shares during the last quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company boosted its position in First Business Financial Services by 0.3% in the first quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 346,483 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $11,368,000 after buying an additional 925 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Renaissance Technologies LLC boosted its position in First Business Financial Services by 3.5% in the fourth quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 174,765 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $6,388,000 after buying an additional 5,848 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 60.07% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

FBIZ has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Raymond James boosted their target price on shares of First Business Financial Services from $40.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday, January 29th. Piper Sandler reiterated an "overweight" rating and issued a $44.00 target price on shares of First Business Financial Services in a report on Monday, March 18th.

First Business Financial Services Stock Down 3.8 %

Shares of FBIZ traded down $1.37 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $34.71. 17,138 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 13,753. First Business Financial Services has a 1-year low of $24.57 and a 1-year high of $41.03. The company has a quick ratio of 1.08, a current ratio of 1.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.19. The company has a market capitalization of $288.44 million, a PE ratio of 7.98 and a beta of 0.78. The business has a 50 day moving average of $35.43 and a 200 day moving average of $34.56.

First Business Financial Services (NASDAQ:FBIZ - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 25th. The financial services provider reported $1.15 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.14 by $0.01. First Business Financial Services had a net margin of 16.37% and a return on equity of 13.95%. The firm had revenue of $36.63 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $37.60 million. Equities research analysts anticipate that First Business Financial Services will post 4.69 EPS for the current year.

First Business Financial Services Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, February 21st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, February 8th were issued a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, February 7th. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.88%. This is an increase from First Business Financial Services's previous quarterly dividend of $0.22. First Business Financial Services's dividend payout ratio is 22.99%.

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.