FS Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:FSBW) Short Interest Up 5.4% in October

FS Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:FSBW) was the target of a significant increase in short interest in October. As of October 15th, there was short interest totalling 41,000 shares, an increase of 5.4% from the September 30th total of 38,900 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 17,600 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 2.3 days.

FS Bancorp Price Performance

Shares of FSBW traded down $0.26 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $43.50. 1,679 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 15,003. The company has a market cap of $337.13 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.29 and a beta of 0.93. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $43.85 and its 200 day moving average is $38.51. FS Bancorp has a fifty-two week low of $28.07 and a fifty-two week high of $47.01. The company has a quick ratio of 1.06, a current ratio of 1.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.81.

FS Bancorp (NASDAQ:FSBW) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 22nd. The bank reported $1.29 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.14 by $0.15. FS Bancorp had a net margin of 18.28% and a return on equity of 13.58%. The business had revenue of $53.01 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $37.10 million. On average, equities analysts anticipate that FS Bancorp will post 4.56 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

FS Bancorp Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, November 21st. Investors of record on Thursday, November 7th will be issued a dividend of $0.27 per share. This represents a $1.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.48%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, November 7th. FS Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 22.93%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have issued reports on FSBW. StockNews.com lowered shares of FS Bancorp from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. DA Davidson upped their price target on shares of FS Bancorp from $34.00 to $44.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 25th.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On FS Bancorp

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. acquired a new position in shares of FS Bancorp in the second quarter valued at approximately $900,000. Agate Pass Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of FS Bancorp in the second quarter worth $382,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its position in FS Bancorp by 1.0% during the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 395,126 shares of the bank’s stock worth $14,401,000 after purchasing an additional 3,811 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its position in shares of FS Bancorp by 4.7% during the second quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 61,221 shares of the bank’s stock worth $2,231,000 after acquiring an additional 2,761 shares during the last quarter. Finally, BNP Paribas Financial Markets increased its position in FS Bancorp by 25.6% during the 1st quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 12,710 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $441,000 after purchasing an additional 2,590 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 63.88% of the company’s stock.

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.