Short Interest in Sound Financial Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:SFBC) Decreases By 41.5%

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

Insider Activity at Sound Financial Bancorp

In other Sound Financial Bancorp news, CEO Laura Lee Stewart sold 900 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $42.60, for a total value of $38,340.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 9,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $383,400. This trade represents a 9.09% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Corporate insiders own 12.30% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Bank of America Corp DE increased its holdings in Sound Financial Bancorp by 4,863.2% during the 2nd quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 943 shares of the bank’s stock worth $43,000 after purchasing an additional 924 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. bought a new stake in shares of Sound Financial Bancorp during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $47,000. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. acquired a new stake in Sound Financial Bancorp in the 2nd quarter valued at about $54,000. Russell Investments Group Ltd. boosted its stake in shares of Sound Financial Bancorp by 168.3% during 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 period. Finally, New York State Common Retirement Fund acquired a new position in shares of Sound Financial Bancorp in the second quarter valued at $101,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 68.85% of the company’s stock.

Sound Financial Bancorp Price Performance

Sound Financial Bancorp stock traded up $0.41 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $47.66. 273 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 9,297. Sound Financial Bancorp has a 1-year low of $40.68 and a 1-year high of $49.21. The business has a fifty day moving average of $45.79 and a 200 day moving average of $43.85. The company has a quick ratio of 1.08, a current ratio of 1.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07. The company has a market capitalization of $122.38 million, a PE ratio of 15.27 and a beta of 0.01.

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

Sound Financial Bancorp Dividend Announcement

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

Separately, Weiss Ratings raised shares of Sound Financial Bancorp from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a report on Monday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Buy”.

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.