First Business Financial Services (NASDAQ:FBIZ) Rating Lowered to Hold at StockNews.com

StockNews.com lowered shares of First Business Financial Services (NASDAQ:FBIZ) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a report issued on Wednesday.

FBIZ has been the topic of a number of other research reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $51.00 price objective (up previously from $48.00) on shares of First Business Financial Services in a research report on Monday, July 29th. Piper Sandler boosted their price objective on shares of First Business Financial Services from $44.00 to $56.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, July 29th. Finally, DA Davidson upgraded shares of First Business Financial Services from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $36.00 to $50.00 in a research report on Monday, August 5th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $50.75.

First Business Financial Services Stock Performance

First Business Financial Services stock opened at $44.39 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.07, a current ratio of 1.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.12. The company has a market capitalization of $367.95 million, a PE ratio of 10.23 and a beta of 0.82. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $43.87 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $39.06. First Business Financial Services has a twelve month low of $28.50 and a twelve month high of $47.23.

First Business Financial Services (NASDAQ:FBIZ) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 25th. The financial services provider reported $1.23 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.09 by $0.14. The business had revenue of $65.34 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $36.73 million. First Business Financial Services had a net margin of 15.66% and a return on equity of 13.87%. Research analysts expect that First Business Financial Services will post 4.7 EPS for the current year.

First Business Financial Services Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, August 21st. Investors of record on Thursday, August 8th were given a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.25%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, August 8th. First Business Financial Services’s dividend payout ratio is currently 23.04%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On First Business Financial Services

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD increased its position in shares of First Business Financial Services by 2.8% during the first quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 18,946 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $711,000 after buying an additional 524 shares during the period. Lazard Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of First Business Financial Services during the first quarter valued at about $60,000. BNP Paribas Financial Markets increased its position in shares of First Business Financial Services by 73.1% during the first quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 3,930 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $147,000 after buying an additional 1,659 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its holdings in First Business Financial Services by 5.6% in the second quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 37,891 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,402,000 after purchasing an additional 1,998 shares during the period. Finally, SG Americas Securities LLC purchased a new stake in First Business Financial Services in the third quarter worth about $125,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 60.07% of the company’s stock.

First Business Financial Services Company Profile

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.