Short Interest in FS Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:FSBW) Rises By 49.3%

FS Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:FSBW) was the target of a large increase in short interest during the month of July. As of July 15th, there was short interest totalling 43,000 shares, an increase of 49.3% from the June 30th total of 28,800 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 17,300 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 2.5 days.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on the stock. DA Davidson lifted their price target on shares of FS Bancorp from $34.00 to $44.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday. StockNews.com downgraded FS Bancorp from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 1st.

Institutional Trading of FS Bancorp

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. TCW Group Inc. lifted its position in FS Bancorp by 0.9% during the fourth quarter. TCW Group Inc. now owns 284,519 shares of the bank’s stock worth $10,516,000 after purchasing an additional 2,540 shares during the period. BNP Paribas Financial Markets lifted its holdings in shares of FS Bancorp by 45.2% during the 4th quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 10,120 shares of the bank’s stock worth $374,000 after acquiring an additional 3,152 shares during the period. SG Americas Securities LLC acquired a new stake in shares of FS Bancorp during the 4th quarter worth approximately $119,000. Panagora Asset Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of FS Bancorp by 9.6% during the 4th quarter. Panagora Asset Management Inc. now owns 16,338 shares of the bank’s stock worth $604,000 after acquiring an additional 1,436 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Empowered Funds LLC increased its stake in FS Bancorp by 8.1% in the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 30,437 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $1,056,000 after acquiring an additional 2,275 shares during the last quarter. 63.88% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

FS Bancorp Stock Performance

NASDAQ:FSBW traded down $0.83 on Monday, hitting $42.79. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 7,250 shares, compared to its average volume of 13,844. FS Bancorp has a one year low of $28.07 and a one year high of $45.30. The firm has a market capitalization of $333.59 million, a P/E ratio of 9.52 and a beta of 0.94. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $35.23 and a two-hundred day moving average of $34.08. The company has a current ratio of 1.03, a quick ratio of 1.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65.

FS Bancorp (NASDAQ:FSBW) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 23rd. The bank reported $1.13 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.03 by $0.10. FS Bancorp had a net margin of 18.05% and a return on equity of 13.65%. The firm had revenue of $51.81 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $35.40 million. Research analysts predict that FS Bancorp will post 4.02 earnings per share for the current year.

FS Bancorp Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, August 21st. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, August 7th will be issued a $0.27 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, August 7th. This is a boost from FS Bancorp’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.26. This represents a $1.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.52%. FS Bancorp’s payout ratio is currently 23.58%.

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.