Sound Financial Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:SFBC) Short Interest Up 14.7% in April

Sound Financial Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:SFBC) saw a significant increase in short interest in the month of April. As of April 15th, there was short interest totaling 83,058 shares, an increase of 14.7% from the March 31st total of 72,430 shares. Currently, 3.7% of the shares of the stock are sold short. Based on an average trading volume of 5,345 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 15.5 days.

Sound Financial Bancorp Stock Performance

Sound Financial Bancorp stock opened at $41.42 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $42.99 and a 200 day simple moving average of $43.84. The company has a quick ratio of 1.09, a current ratio of 1.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16. Sound Financial Bancorp has a 12-month low of $40.68 and a 12-month high of $51.70. The stock has a market capitalization of $106.45 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.14 and a beta of 0.01.

Sound Financial Bancorp (NASDAQ:SFBC) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 28th. The bank reported $0.61 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. Sound Financial Bancorp had a return on equity of 7.03% and a net margin of 12.19%.The business had revenue of $9.96 million during the quarter.

Sound Financial Bancorp Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, May 26th. Investors of record on Monday, May 11th will be issued a $0.21 dividend. This represents a $0.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, May 11th. Sound Financial Bancorp’s payout ratio is currently 28.67%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

SFBC has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Wall Street Zen raised Sound Financial Bancorp to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, March 21st. Weiss Ratings cut Sound Financial Bancorp from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a report on Wednesday. One analyst has rated the stock with a Hold rating, According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold”.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Bank of America Corp DE raised its holdings 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 buying an additional 924 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. bought a new position in shares of Sound Financial Bancorp in the second quarter valued at about $47,000. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. bought a new position in shares of Sound Financial Bancorp in the second quarter valued at about $54,000. Russell Investments Group Ltd. raised its holdings in shares of Sound Financial Bancorp by 168.3% in the fourth quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 1,387 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $61,000 after buying an additional 870 shares during the last quarter. Finally, New York State Common Retirement Fund bought a new position in shares of Sound Financial Bancorp in the second quarter valued at about $101,000. 68.85% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.