StockNews.com Downgrades First Business Financial Services (NASDAQ:FBIZ) to Hold

StockNews.com downgraded shares of First Business Financial Services (NASDAQ:FBIZ) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a report published on Friday.

FBIZ has been the subject of a number of other reports. Piper Sandler decreased their price objective on First Business Financial Services from $56.00 to $53.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, October 29th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price objective on shares of First Business Financial Services from $53.00 to $58.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $51.75.

First Business Financial Services Trading Up 0.7 %

NASDAQ:FBIZ opened at $47.50 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.09, a quick ratio of 1.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.16. First Business Financial Services has a 12-month low of $32.56 and a 12-month high of $52.22. The firm has a market cap of $394.25 million, a PE ratio of 10.19 and a beta of 0.87. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $47.53 and a 200 day moving average price of $45.07.

First Business Financial Services (NASDAQ:FBIZ) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The financial services provider reported $1.24 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.20 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $66.39 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $38.80 million. First Business Financial Services had a net margin of 15.46% and a return on equity of 13.70%. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.17 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts anticipate that First Business Financial Services will post 4.78 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director William Kent Lorenz sold 1,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $49.00, for a total value of $49,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 8,341 shares in the company, valued at $408,709. This trade represents a 10.71 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CEO James Edward Hartlieb sold 6,344 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, October 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $43.15, for a total transaction of $273,743.60. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 28,162 shares in the company, valued at $1,215,190.30. The trade was a 18.39 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 47,344 shares of company stock worth $2,275,144. Company insiders own 6.30% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of First Business Financial Services

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. SG Americas Securities LLC grew its holdings in First Business Financial Services by 24.8% during the 4th quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 3,412 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $158,000 after buying an additional 679 shares during the last quarter. R Squared Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of First Business Financial Services during the fourth quarter valued at $49,000. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in First Business Financial Services by 1.3% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 173,404 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $7,907,000 after purchasing an additional 2,200 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp raised its stake in First Business Financial Services by 1.9% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 136,690 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $6,232,000 after purchasing an additional 2,607 shares during the last quarter. Finally, GSA Capital Partners LLP lifted its holdings in First Business Financial Services by 38.3% in the 3rd quarter. GSA Capital Partners LLP now owns 9,900 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $451,000 after purchasing an additional 2,740 shares in the last quarter. 60.07% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About First Business Financial Services

First Business Financial Services, Inc operates as the bank holding company for First Business Bank that provides commercial banking products and services for small and medium-sized businesses, business owners, executives, professionals, and high net worth individuals in Wisconsin, Kansas, and Missouri.