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

FS Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:FSBW) was the recipient of a large increase in short interest in 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 volume of 17,600 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 2.3 days.

FS Bancorp Trading Down 2.0 %

Shares of FSBW stock opened at $42.90 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $43.81 and a 200 day simple moving average of $38.59. FS Bancorp has a fifty-two week low of $28.07 and a fifty-two week high of $47.01. The stock has a market capitalization of $332.39 million, a P/E ratio of 9.11 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) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 22nd. The bank reported $1.29 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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. On average, sell-side analysts expect that FS Bancorp will post 4.56 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

FS Bancorp Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, November 21st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, November 7th will be paid a dividend of $0.27 per share. This represents a $1.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.52%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, November 7th. FS Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 22.93%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On FS Bancorp

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Copeland Capital Management LLC bought a new position in FS Bancorp in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $62,000. Lazard Asset Management LLC increased its position in FS Bancorp by 64.5% in the 1st quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 2,288 shares of the bank’s stock worth $79,000 after buying an additional 897 shares during the period. SG Americas Securities LLC bought a new position in FS Bancorp in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $103,000. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC increased its position in FS Bancorp by 4.3% in the 1st quarter. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC now owns 7,734 shares of the bank’s stock worth $268,000 after buying an additional 320 shares during the period. Finally, Rhumbline Advisers increased its position in FS Bancorp by 4.4% in the 2nd quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 10,197 shares of the bank’s stock worth $372,000 after buying an additional 434 shares during the period. 63.88% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have commented on the company. DA Davidson lifted their price target on FS Bancorp from $34.00 to $44.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, July 25th. StockNews.com downgraded FS Bancorp from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report 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.