StockNews.com Downgrades FS Bancorp (NASDAQ:FSBW) to Hold

StockNews.com cut shares of FS Bancorp (NASDAQ:FSBW) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research note published on Tuesday.

Separately, DA Davidson increased their price objective on shares of FS Bancorp from $34.00 to $44.00 and gave the company a neutral rating in a research report on Thursday, July 25th.

FS Bancorp Stock Down 1.9 %

Shares of NASDAQ FSBW traded down $0.77 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $40.39. The stock had a trading volume of 10,408 shares, compared to its average volume of 14,445. The business’s 50 day moving average is $37.01 and its 200-day moving average is $34.52. The company has a market cap of $314.88 million, a P/E ratio of 8.82 and a beta of 0.94. FS Bancorp has a 52 week low of $28.07 and a 52 week high of $45.30. The company has a quick ratio of 1.01, a current ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65.

FS Bancorp (NASDAQ:FSBW) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, July 23rd. The bank reported $1.13 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.03 by $0.10. FS Bancorp had a net margin of 18.05% and a return on equity of 13.65%. The firm had revenue of $51.81 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $35.40 million. As a group, analysts predict that FS Bancorp will post 4.17 EPS for the current year.

FS Bancorp Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, August 21st. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, August 7th will be given a dividend of $0.27 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, August 7th. This represents a $1.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.67%. This is a positive change from FS Bancorp’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.26. FS Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 23.58%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On FS Bancorp

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in FS Bancorp by 0.6% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 403,704 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $14,013,000 after purchasing an additional 2,376 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its stake in shares of FS Bancorp by 1.0% in the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 395,126 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $14,401,000 after acquiring an additional 3,811 shares during the period. TCW Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of FS Bancorp by 0.6% in the second quarter. TCW Group Inc. now owns 290,242 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $10,579,000 after acquiring an additional 1,706 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its stake in shares of FS Bancorp by 4.7% in the second quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 61,221 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $2,231,000 after acquiring an additional 2,761 shares during the period. Finally, Empowered Funds LLC raised its stake in shares of FS Bancorp by 8.1% in the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 30,437 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $1,056,000 after acquiring an additional 2,275 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 63.88% of the company’s stock.

FS Bancorp Company Profile

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.