First Business Financial Services (NASDAQ:FBIZ) Upgraded at StockNews.com

StockNews.com upgraded shares of First Business Financial Services (NASDAQ:FBIZ) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research report report published on Thursday morning.

Other research analysts also recently issued research reports about the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $51.00 target price (up previously from $48.00) on shares of First Business Financial Services in a report on Monday, July 29th. Piper Sandler dropped their price objective on First Business Financial Services from $56.00 to $53.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, October 29th. Finally, DA Davidson upgraded First Business Financial Services from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their target price for the company from $36.00 to $50.00 in a research note on Monday, August 5th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, Based on data from MarketBeat, First Business Financial Services presently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $50.00.

First Business Financial Services Stock Performance

FBIZ opened at $43.18 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.16, a quick ratio of 1.07 and a current ratio of 1.09. The company has a market cap of $358.39 million, a PE ratio of 9.27 and a beta of 0.83. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $44.00 and a 200-day moving average of $39.52. First Business Financial Services has a 52-week low of $31.39 and a 52-week high of $47.23.

First Business Financial Services (NASDAQ:FBIZ) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The financial services provider reported $1.24 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.20 by $0.04. First Business Financial Services had a return on equity of 13.70% and a net margin of 15.46%. The firm had revenue of $66.39 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $38.80 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.17 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that First Business Financial Services will post 4.76 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

First Business Financial Services Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 20th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, November 7th will be issued a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, November 7th. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.32%. First Business Financial Services’s payout ratio is 21.46%.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO James Edward Hartlieb sold 6,344 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, October 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $43.15, for a total transaction of $273,743.60. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 28,162 shares in the company, valued at $1,215,190.30. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 6.30% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On First Business Financial Services

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Quadrature Capital Ltd bought a new position in shares of First Business Financial Services during the 1st quarter worth about $247,000. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in First Business Financial Services by 2.1% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 361,070 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $13,540,000 after purchasing an additional 7,499 shares during the period. Lazard Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in First Business Financial Services during the first quarter valued at approximately $60,000. Empowered Funds LLC grew its stake in shares of First Business Financial Services by 7.8% in the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 41,101 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,541,000 after purchasing an additional 2,975 shares during the period. Finally, BNP Paribas Financial Markets raised its holdings in shares of First Business Financial Services by 73.1% in the 1st quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 3,930 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $147,000 after buying an additional 1,659 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 60.07% of the company’s stock.

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.