FS Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:FSBW) Short Interest Down 32.1% in August

FS Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:FSBW) saw a significant decline in short interest during the month of August. As of August 31st, there was short interest totaling 144,784 shares, a decline of 32.1% from the August 15th total of 213,209 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 19,651 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 7.4 days. Approximately 2.2% of the shares of the company are sold short.

Insider Activity at FS Bancorp

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

Institutional Trading of FS Bancorp

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. BlackRock Inc. bought a new stake in shares of FS Bancorp in the 2nd quarter worth about $21,213,000. De Lisle Partners LLP acquired a new stake in shares of FS Bancorp during the 2nd quarter worth about $16,956,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp bought a new position in FS Bancorp during the 2nd quarter valued at about $2,150,000. Empowered Funds LLC bought a new position in FS Bancorp during the 2nd quarter valued at about $1,793,000. Finally, Siena Capital Partners GP LLC lifted its holdings in FS Bancorp by 156.1% during the 4th quarter. Siena Capital Partners GP LLC now owns 52,441 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $2,159,000 after purchasing an additional 31,965 shares during the last quarter. 63.88% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have weighed in on FSBW. DA Davidson reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $45.00 price target on shares of FS Bancorp in a report on Wednesday, July 22nd. Zacks Research downgraded FS Bancorp from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 28th. Weiss Ratings raised FS Bancorp from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a report on Monday, June 29th. Finally, Brean Capital downgraded FS Bancorp from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $45.00 price objective for the company. in a research report on Monday, July 27th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, FS Bancorp currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $45.00.

FS Bancorp Stock Performance

NASDAQ FSBW opened at $44.34 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $329.53 million, a P/E ratio of 10.22 and a beta of 0.66. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $43.30 and its 200 day simple moving average is $41.62. FS Bancorp has a twelve month low of $36.66 and a twelve month high of $45.85. The company has a quick ratio of 1.09, a current ratio of 1.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.17.

FS Bancorp (NASDAQ:FSBW) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 21st. The bank reported $1.08 EPS for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.08. The firm had revenue of $5.24 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $38.00 million. FS Bancorp had a net margin of 14.88% and a return on equity of 10.86%. As a group, research analysts forecast that FS Bancorp will post 4.34 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

FS Bancorp Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 21st. Investors of record on Friday, August 7th were given a dividend of $0.29 per share. This represents a $1.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.6%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 7th. FS Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 26.73%.

About FS Bancorp

FS Bancorp, Inc is the bank holding company for 1st Security Bank of Washington, a community bank headquartered in Mountlake Terrace, Washington. The company serves individuals, families, businesses and other organizations primarily through banking operations in Washington state.

Through 1st Security Bank, FS Bancorp offers deposit products, residential and commercial real estate loans, construction and land development financing, commercial and industrial loans, consumer lending and other traditional banking services.