FS Bancorp (NASDAQ:FSBW) Upgraded to Buy at StockNews.com

StockNews.com upgraded shares of FS Bancorp (NASDAQ:FSBW) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research report released on Tuesday morning.

FS Bancorp Stock Performance

FSBW opened at $31.47 on Tuesday. FS Bancorp has a 12-month low of $26.58 and a 12-month high of $38.70. The stock has a market cap of $245.78 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 6.87 and a beta of 0.92. The business has a 50 day moving average of $32.74 and a 200-day moving average of $33.08. The company has a quick ratio of 0.99, a current ratio of 1.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54.

FS Bancorp (NASDAQ:FSBW) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 24th. The bank reported $1.23 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.02 by $0.21. The business had revenue of $35.91 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $34.80 million. FS Bancorp had a return on equity of 14.49% and a net margin of 18.69%. On average, equities research analysts expect that FS Bancorp will post 4.22 earnings per share for the current year.

FS Bancorp Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 23rd. Investors of record on Thursday, May 9th will be issued a dividend of $0.26 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, May 8th. This represents a $1.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.30%. FS Bancorp’s payout ratio is currently 22.71%.

Institutional Trading of FS Bancorp

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in FS Bancorp by 5.2% in the 3rd quarter. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC now owns 7,862 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $232,000 after acquiring an additional 389 shares in the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC acquired a new position in FS Bancorp in the 4th quarter valued at $119,000. Panagora Asset Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of FS Bancorp by 69.7% in the 3rd quarter. Panagora Asset Management Inc. now owns 14,902 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $440,000 after purchasing an additional 6,121 shares during the last quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of FS Bancorp by 2.1% in the 3rd quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 29,479 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $870,000 after purchasing an additional 597 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Pacific Ridge Capital Partners LLC increased its stake in shares of FS Bancorp by 3.7% in the 3rd quarter. Pacific Ridge Capital Partners LLC now owns 270,723 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $7,986,000 after purchasing an additional 9,716 shares during the last quarter. 63.88% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.