Short Interest in Sound Financial Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:SFBC) Grows By 128.6%

Sound Financial Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:SFBC) was the recipient of a significant growth in short interest during the month of December. As of December 31st, there was short interest totalling 4,800 shares, a growth of 128.6% from the December 15th total of 2,100 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 1,900 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 2.5 days. Approximately 0.2% of the shares of the stock are sold short.

Insider Transactions at Sound Financial Bancorp

In other Sound Financial Bancorp news, Director James E. Sweeney sold 592 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $52.57, for a total transaction of $31,121.44. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 2,942 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $154,660.94. The trade was a 16.75 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 1,026 shares of company stock valued at $54,446. 12.60% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Sound Financial Bancorp

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in Sound Financial Bancorp by 6.3% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 23,885 shares of the bank’s stock worth $1,278,000 after buying an additional 1,407 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its holdings in Sound Financial Bancorp by 7.2% during the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 16,811 shares of the bank’s stock worth $739,000 after buying an additional 1,122 shares during the period. Arcus Capital Partners LLC purchased a new stake in Sound Financial Bancorp during the third quarter worth $503,000. FNY Investment Advisers LLC lifted its holdings in Sound Financial Bancorp by 97.1% during the fourth quarter. FNY Investment Advisers LLC now owns 5,530 shares of the bank’s stock worth $291,000 after buying an additional 2,725 shares during the period. Finally, State Street Corp increased its position in shares of Sound Financial Bancorp by 10.9% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 5,095 shares of the bank’s stock worth $273,000 after purchasing an additional 500 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 68.85% of the company’s stock.

Sound Financial Bancorp Trading Up 2.0 %

Shares of NASDAQ SFBC traded up $1.04 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $54.26. The stock had a trading volume of 611 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,197. The company has a current ratio of 1.12, a quick ratio of 1.12 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51. The firm has a market cap of $139.12 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.46 and a beta of 0.69. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $53.71 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $50.92. Sound Financial Bancorp has a 52-week low of $39.00 and a 52-week high of $55.99.

Sound Financial Bancorp Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, November 26th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, November 12th were issued a dividend of $0.19 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, November 12th. This represents a $0.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.40%. Sound Financial Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio is currently 49.67%.

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.