Sound Financial Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:SFBC) Sees Large Drop in Short Interest

Sound Financial Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:SFBC) saw a significant decline in short interest in the month of August. As of August 14th, there was short interest totaling 5,229 shares, a decline of 41.5% from the July 30th total of 8,936 shares. Currently, 0.2% of the shares of the company are sold short. Based on an average daily volume of 26,114 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 0.2 days.

Sound Financial Bancorp Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:SFBC traded up $0.31 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $47.11. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 2,873 shares, compared to its average volume of 9,395. The company has a market cap of $121.06 million and a P/E ratio of 15.10. Sound Financial Bancorp has a 12-month low of $40.68 and a 12-month high of $49.21. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $45.63 and its 200 day simple moving average is $43.81. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07, a quick ratio of 1.08 and a current ratio of 1.08.

Sound Financial Bancorp (NASDAQ:SFBC) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 28th. The bank reported $0.98 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. The company had revenue of $11.02 million during the quarter. Sound Financial Bancorp had a net margin of 12.89% and a return on equity of 7.31%.

Sound Financial Bancorp Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 21st. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 7th were given a $0.21 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 7th. This represents a $0.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.8%. Sound Financial Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio is 26.92%.

Insider Activity at Sound Financial Bancorp

In related news, CEO Laura Lee Stewart sold 900 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $42.60, for a total transaction of $38,340.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 9,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $383,400. This trade represents a 9.09% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. 12.30% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Sound Financial Bancorp

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in SFBC. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Sound Financial Bancorp during the 2nd quarter valued at about $1,616,000. Pacific Sage Partners LLC acquired a new stake in Sound Financial Bancorp during the second quarter worth about $1,560,000. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in Sound Financial Bancorp by 106.6% during the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 50,505 shares of the bank’s stock worth $2,324,000 after purchasing an additional 26,059 shares during the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC purchased a new position in Sound Financial Bancorp during the second quarter worth about $278,000. Finally, Renaissance Technologies LLC purchased a new position in Sound Financial Bancorp during the fourth quarter worth about $271,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 68.85% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Separately, Weiss Ratings upgraded Sound Financial Bancorp from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 5th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Hold rating, Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock 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.