Short Interest in Sound Financial Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:SFBC) Rises By 56.5%

Sound Financial Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:SFBC) was the target of a significant growth in short interest during the month of March. As of March 31st, there was short interest totaling 72,430 shares, a growth of 56.5% from the March 15th total of 46,268 shares. Currently, 3.2% of the shares of the company are short sold. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 15,340 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 4.7 days.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts recently commented on SFBC shares. Wall Street Zen upgraded Sound Financial Bancorp to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, March 21st. 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, According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold”.

Sound Financial Bancorp Stock Performance

SFBC stock opened at $46.21 on Thursday. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $43.27 and a 200 day moving average price of $44.08. Sound Financial Bancorp has a fifty-two week low of $40.68 and a fifty-two week high of $51.99. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16, a current ratio of 1.09 and a quick ratio of 1.09. The stock has a market capitalization of $118.76 million, a PE ratio of 16.68 and a beta of 0.05.

Sound Financial Bancorp (NASDAQ:SFBC) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, January 27th. The bank reported $0.87 earnings per share for the quarter. Sound Financial Bancorp had a return on equity of 6.70% and a net margin of 11.64%.The company had revenue of $9.53 million for the quarter.

Sound Financial Bancorp Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, February 23rd. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 9th were paid a $0.21 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 9th. This is a positive change from Sound Financial Bancorp’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.19. This represents a $0.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.8%. Sound Financial Bancorp’s payout ratio is currently 30.32%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Sound Financial Bancorp

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Barclays PLC increased its stake in shares of Sound Financial Bancorp by 8.7% in the 4th quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 4,402 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $192,000 after acquiring an additional 354 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its stake in Sound Financial Bancorp by 64.1% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 1,667 shares of the bank’s stock worth $77,000 after acquiring an additional 651 shares during the last quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN boosted its stake in Sound Financial Bancorp by 40.6% during 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% during the fourth quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 1,387 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $61,000 after purchasing an additional 870 shares during the period. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE grew its holdings in Sound Financial Bancorp by 4,863.2% during the second quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 943 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $43,000 after purchasing an additional 924 shares during the period. 68.85% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Sound Financial Bancorp Company Profile

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.