First Business Financial Services (NASDAQ:FBIZ) Upgraded at Raymond James Financial

Raymond James Financial upgraded shares of First Business Financial Services (NASDAQ:FBIZ) to a moderate buy rating in a report released on Wednesday morning,Zacks reports.

Several other analysts have also recently weighed in on FBIZ. DA Davidson set a $80.00 price objective on First Business Financial Services and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, August 3rd. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (a-)” rating on shares of First Business Financial Services in a research report on Friday, September 11th. Piper Sandler restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $84.00 target price (up from $70.00) on shares of First Business Financial Services in a research note on Monday, August 3rd. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $74.00 target price (up from $68.00) on shares of First Business Financial Services in a research note on Monday, August 3rd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and four have assigned a Buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $78.25.

First Business Financial Services Trading Up 2.1%

NASDAQ:FBIZ opened at $70.93 on Wednesday. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $70.63 and a 200-day moving average price of $62.79. First Business Financial Services has a 12 month low of $46.07 and a 12 month high of $73.74. The company has a current ratio of 1.06, a quick ratio of 1.06 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.90. The stock has a market cap of $593.68 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.81 and a beta of 0.67.

First Business Financial Services (NASDAQ:FBIZ) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The financial services provider reported $1.84 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.56 by $0.28. First Business Financial Services had a net margin of 19.28% and a return on equity of 14.92%. The company had revenue of $46.71 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $45.42 million. Equities analysts predict that First Business Financial Services will post 6.56 EPS for the current year.

First Business Financial Services Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, August 26th. Investors of record on Wednesday, August 12th were given a dividend of $0.34 per share. This represents a $1.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, August 12th. First Business Financial Services’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 20.73%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Jodi Chandler sold 675 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $70.19, for a total transaction of $47,378.25. Following the sale, the insider owned 22,550 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,582,784.50. The trade was a 2.91% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 5.00% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On First Business Financial Services

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. BlackRock Inc. bought a new stake in shares of First Business Financial Services in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $58,646,000. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company bought a new position in First Business Financial Services during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $15,351,000. De Lisle Partners LLP bought a new position in First Business Financial Services during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $6,258,000. Vista Investment Management bought a new position in First Business Financial Services during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $3,307,000. Finally, Empowered Funds LLC purchased a new position in First Business Financial Services during the second quarter valued at $2,853,000. Institutional investors own 60.07% of the company’s stock.

First Business Financial Services Company Profile

First Business Financial Services, Inc is a bank holding company headquartered in Madison, Wisconsin. Through its principal subsidiary, First Business Bank, the company provides commercial banking services primarily to small and middle-market businesses, business owners, professionals and individuals.

First Business Bank offers business checking and savings accounts, treasury management, commercial real estate lending, business loans, lines of credit, equipment financing and other lending solutions.