Sound Financial Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:SFBC) Sees Significant Growth in Short Interest

Sound Financial Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:SFBC) was the target of a significant growth in short interest in the month of May. As of May 31st, there was short interest totalling 4,300 shares, a growth of 79.2% from the May 15th total of 2,400 shares. Currently, 0.2% of the company’s shares are sold short. Based on an average trading volume of 3,700 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 1.2 days.

Institutional Trading of Sound Financial Bancorp

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Arcus Capital Partners LLC bought a new position in Sound Financial Bancorp during the first quarter worth about $558,000. Virtu Financial LLC bought a new position in Sound Financial Bancorp in the 4th quarter valued at $235,000. Northern Trust Corp raised its stake in shares of Sound Financial Bancorp by 44.3% during the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 7,141 shares of the bank’s stock worth $376,000 after purchasing an additional 2,193 shares during the period. Alliancebernstein L.P. boosted its holdings in shares of Sound Financial Bancorp by 1.3% in the 4th quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 150,215 shares of the bank’s stock worth $7,909,000 after buying an additional 1,863 shares during the last quarter. Finally, FNY Investment Advisers LLC increased its holdings in Sound Financial Bancorp by 13.8% during the first quarter. FNY Investment Advisers LLC now owns 6,293 shares of the bank’s stock worth $315,000 after buying an additional 763 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 68.85% of the company’s stock.

Sound Financial Bancorp Stock Up 0.2%

Shares of Sound Financial Bancorp stock traded up $0.09 during trading on Monday, reaching $49.18. The stock had a trading volume of 2,852 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,561. Sound Financial Bancorp has a 52 week low of $39.90 and a 52 week high of $55.99. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $50.35 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $51.55. The company has a market capitalization of $126.20 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.32 and a beta of 0.23. The company has a current ratio of 1.12, a quick ratio of 1.12 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51.

Sound Financial Bancorp (NASDAQ:SFBC) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 29th. The bank reported $0.45 EPS for the quarter. Sound Financial Bancorp had a return on equity of 4.57% and a net margin of 7.48%. The firm had revenue of $9.17 million during the quarter.

Sound Financial Bancorp Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 23rd. Investors of record on Friday, May 9th were paid a $0.19 dividend. This represents a $0.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.55%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 9th. Sound Financial Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 38.97%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Separately, Wall Street Zen upgraded Sound Financial Bancorp to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, May 24th.

About Sound Financial Bancorp

Sound Financial Bancorp, Inc operates as the bank holding company for Sound Community Bank that provides banking and other financial services for consumers and businesses. It accepts various deposits products comprising savings, money market deposit, NOW, and demand accounts, as well as certificates of deposit.