StockNews.com Upgrades First Business Financial Services (NASDAQ:FBIZ) to “Buy”

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

A number of other research analysts have also recently issued reports on the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reiterated an outperform rating and set a $51.00 price objective (up from $48.00) on shares of First Business Financial Services in a report on Monday, July 29th. Piper Sandler boosted their price objective on First Business Financial Services from $44.00 to $56.00 and gave the stock an overweight rating in a report on Monday, July 29th. Finally, DA Davidson upgraded First Business Financial Services from a neutral rating to a buy rating and raised their target price for the company from $36.00 to $50.00 in a report on Monday, August 5th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of Buy and an average price target of $50.75.

First Business Financial Services Price Performance

FBIZ stock opened at $43.69 on Thursday. First Business Financial Services has a 1 year low of $28.35 and a 1 year high of $47.23. The stock has a market capitalization of $362.15 million, a PE ratio of 10.07 and a beta of 0.82. The company’s 50-day moving average is $43.25 and its 200-day moving average is $38.57. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.12, a current ratio of 1.08 and a quick ratio of 1.07.

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

First Business Financial Services Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, August 21st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 8th were paid a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, August 8th. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.29%. First Business Financial Services’s payout ratio is presently 23.04%.

Institutional Trading of First Business Financial Services

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Creative Planning bought a new position in First Business Financial Services in the 3rd quarter valued at $216,000. SG Americas Securities LLC purchased a new stake in First Business Financial Services during the third quarter worth about $125,000. Squarepoint Ops LLC bought a new stake in First Business Financial Services in the second quarter worth about $204,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its stake in First Business Financial Services by 1.5% in the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 537,808 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $19,893,000 after acquiring an additional 7,871 shares during the last quarter. Finally, First Business Financial Services Inc. grew its position in shares of First Business Financial Services by 1.2% during the 2nd quarter. First Business Financial Services Inc. now owns 353,718 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $13,084,000 after acquiring an additional 4,196 shares during the period. 60.07% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.