Short Interest in Sound Financial Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:SFBC) Declines By 20.5%

Sound Financial Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:SFBC) was the recipient of a significant decrease in short interest in February. As of February 13th, there was short interest totaling 34,671 shares, a decrease of 20.5% from the January 29th total of 43,588 shares. Approximately 1.5% of the shares of the company are short sold. Based on an average trading volume of 5,122 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 6.8 days. Based on an average trading volume of 5,122 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 6.8 days. Approximately 1.5% of the shares of the company are short sold.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Sound Financial Bancorp

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of SFBC. Barclays PLC grew its holdings in shares of Sound Financial Bancorp by 8.7% in the fourth quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 4,402 shares of the bank’s stock worth $192,000 after purchasing an additional 354 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its position in Sound Financial Bancorp by 64.1% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 1,667 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $77,000 after buying an additional 651 shares during the period. Wells Fargo & Company MN grew its holdings in Sound Financial Bancorp by 40.6% in the 4th quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN now owns 2,628 shares of the bank’s stock worth $115,000 after acquiring an additional 759 shares during the last quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. grew its holdings in Sound Financial Bancorp by 168.3% in the 4th quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 1,387 shares of the bank’s stock worth $61,000 after acquiring an additional 870 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE increased its position in shares of Sound Financial Bancorp by 4,863.2% in the second quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 943 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $43,000 after acquiring an additional 924 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 68.85% of the company’s stock.

Sound Financial Bancorp Trading Down 0.6%

Sound Financial Bancorp stock opened at $42.47 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34, a quick ratio of 1.12 and a current ratio of 1.12. Sound Financial Bancorp has a fifty-two week low of $42.40 and a fifty-two week high of $51.99. The stock has a market cap of $109.15 million, a P/E ratio of 15.33 and a beta of 0.11. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $43.75 and its 200-day moving average price is $44.95.

Sound Financial Bancorp (NASDAQ:SFBC) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, January 27th. The bank reported $0.87 EPS for the quarter. The business had revenue of $9.53 million during the quarter. Sound Financial Bancorp had a return on equity of 6.76% and a net margin of 11.64%.

Sound Financial Bancorp Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, February 23rd. Investors of record on Monday, February 9th were given a $0.21 dividend. This represents a $0.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.0%. This is a positive change from Sound Financial Bancorp’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.19. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 9th. Sound Financial Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 30.32%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Separately, Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Sound Financial Bancorp in a research note on Thursday, January 22nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Hold rating, Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold”.

About Sound Financial Bancorp

Sound Financial Bancorp, Inc is a bank holding company and the parent of Sound Community Bank, a community‐oriented financial institution headquartered in University Place, Washington. Through its subsidiary, the company delivers a broad array of banking and financial services to individuals, small businesses and commercial clients throughout the Puget Sound region. Emphasizing relationship banking, Sound Financial Bancorp seeks to support local economic development by offering personalized service and community engagement.

The company’s core offerings include deposit products such as checking and savings accounts, money market accounts and certificates of deposit, as well as a full spectrum of lending solutions.