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 report published on Tuesday morning.

FS Bancorp Trading Up 0.1 %

NASDAQ:FSBW opened at $31.47 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54, a current ratio of 1.00 and a quick ratio of 0.99. FS Bancorp has a fifty-two week low of $26.58 and a fifty-two week high of $38.70. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $32.74 and its two-hundred day moving average is $33.08. The stock has a market cap of $245.78 million, a PE ratio of 6.87 and a beta of 0.92.

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

FS Bancorp Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 23rd. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 9th will be paid 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 dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 22.71%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On FS Bancorp

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in FSBW. Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its holdings in shares of FS Bancorp by 0.8% during the 3rd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 70,151 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $2,069,000 after buying an additional 525 shares during the last quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC acquired a new stake in FS Bancorp in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $46,000. Panagora Asset Management Inc. lifted its holdings in FS Bancorp by 69.7% in the 3rd quarter. Panagora Asset Management Inc. now owns 14,902 shares of the bank’s stock worth $440,000 after purchasing an additional 6,121 shares during the last quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in FS Bancorp by 2.1% in the 3rd quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 29,479 shares of the bank’s stock worth $870,000 after purchasing an additional 597 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Pacific Ridge Capital Partners LLC lifted its holdings in FS Bancorp by 3.7% in the 3rd quarter. Pacific Ridge Capital Partners LLC now owns 270,723 shares of the bank’s stock worth $7,986,000 after purchasing an additional 9,716 shares during the last quarter. 63.88% of the stock is currently 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.