FS Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:FSBW) Sees Large Decline in Short Interest

FS Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:FSBW) was the target of a significant decrease in short interest during the month of January. As of January 31st, there was short interest totalling 41,800 shares, a decrease of 21.3% from the January 15th total of 53,100 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 15,900 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 2.6 days.

Institutional Trading of FS Bancorp

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in FSBW. SG Americas Securities LLC acquired a new stake in FS Bancorp in the third quarter valued at $103,000. Copeland Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in FS Bancorp in the third quarter valued at $62,000. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lifted its stake in FS Bancorp by 22.7% in the third quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 30,292 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $1,348,000 after acquiring an additional 5,614 shares during the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC raised its position in shares of FS Bancorp by 5.3% in the third quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 34,519 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $1,536,000 after purchasing an additional 1,742 shares during the period. Finally, Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. raised its position in shares of FS Bancorp by 92.6% in the third quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. now owns 14,191 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $631,000 after purchasing an additional 6,823 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 63.88% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Separately, StockNews.com cut shares of FS Bancorp from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd.

FS Bancorp Price Performance

FSBW remained flat at $39.04 during trading hours on Friday. 15,134 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 13,695. FS Bancorp has a fifty-two week low of $30.64 and a fifty-two week high of $49.15. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $41.35 and a 200-day moving average price of $43.17. The company has a market capitalization of $305.29 million, a PE ratio of 8.87 and a beta of 0.95. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74, a quick ratio of 1.04 and a current ratio of 1.06.

FS Bancorp (NASDAQ:FSBW) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, January 21st. The bank reported $0.92 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.04 by ($0.12). FS Bancorp had a return on equity of 12.35% and a net margin of 16.97%. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that FS Bancorp will post 4.26 EPS for the current year.

FS Bancorp Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, February 20th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, February 6th will be paid a $0.28 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, February 6th. This represents a $1.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.87%. This is a boost from FS Bancorp’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.27. FS Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 25.45%.

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.