StockNews.com Upgrades FS Bancorp (NASDAQ:FSBW) to “Buy”

FS Bancorp (NASDAQ:FSBW) was upgraded by investment analysts at StockNews.com from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note issued on Monday.

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

FS Bancorp Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:FSBW traded down $0.52 on Monday, reaching $43.10. 16,035 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 13,907. FS Bancorp has a fifty-two week low of $28.07 and a fifty-two 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. The firm has a market capitalization of $336.01 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.41 and a beta of 0.94. The business’s 50-day moving average is $35.44 and its two-hundred day moving average is $34.13.

FS Bancorp (NASDAQ:FSBW) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 23rd. The bank reported $1.13 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 analyst estimates of $35.40 million. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that FS Bancorp will post 4.02 EPS for the current year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On FS Bancorp

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. TCW Group Inc. grew its position in shares of FS Bancorp by 0.9% during the fourth quarter. TCW Group Inc. now owns 284,519 shares of the bank’s stock worth $10,516,000 after acquiring an additional 2,540 shares during the last quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets increased its holdings in FS Bancorp by 45.2% in the fourth quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 10,120 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $374,000 after buying an additional 3,152 shares during the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC bought a new position in FS Bancorp during the 4th quarter worth $119,000. Panagora Asset Management Inc. grew its position in FS Bancorp by 9.6% in the 4th quarter. Panagora Asset Management Inc. now owns 16,338 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $604,000 after buying an additional 1,436 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Empowered Funds LLC lifted its stake in FS Bancorp by 8.1% during the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 30,437 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $1,056,000 after purchasing an additional 2,275 shares during the last quarter. 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.