First Northwest Bancorp (NASDAQ:FNWB) Short Interest Up 22.7% in March

First Northwest Bancorp (NASDAQ:FNWB) was the recipient of a significant growth in short interest in the month of March. As of March 15th, there was short interest totalling 14,600 shares, a growth of 22.7% from the February 28th total of 11,900 shares. Currently, 0.2% of the company’s shares are sold short. Based on an average trading volume of 19,400 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 0.8 days.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On First Northwest Bancorp

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Barclays PLC increased its stake in First Northwest Bancorp by 60.5% during the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 6,815 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $72,000 after purchasing an additional 2,568 shares in the last quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. purchased a new position in First Northwest Bancorp in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $350,000. FNY Investment Advisers LLC purchased a new stake in First Northwest Bancorp during the 4th quarter valued at $277,000. Citadel Advisors LLC boosted its stake in First Northwest Bancorp by 5.6% during the 4th quarter. Citadel Advisors LLC now owns 16,134 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $165,000 after purchasing an additional 860 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Kennedy Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of First Northwest Bancorp by 43.3% in the fourth quarter. Kennedy Capital Management LLC now owns 75,456 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $770,000 after purchasing an additional 22,788 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 66.11% of the company’s stock.

First Northwest Bancorp Stock Up 2.7 %

Shares of FNWB traded up $0.27 on Wednesday, reaching $10.42. The stock had a trading volume of 23,356 shares, compared to its average volume of 20,996. The firm has a market capitalization of $97.51 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -29.77 and a beta of 0.81. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $10.64 and a 200-day simple moving average of $10.58. First Northwest Bancorp has a 12-month low of $8.91 and a 12-month high of $15.85. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.08, a quick ratio of 1.04 and a current ratio of 1.04.

First Northwest Bancorp (NASDAQ:FNWB) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The financial services provider reported ($0.32) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.06 by ($0.38). First Northwest Bancorp had a negative net margin of 2.38% and a negative return on equity of 1.86%. Sell-side analysts predict that First Northwest Bancorp will post 0.5 EPS for the current year.

First Northwest Bancorp Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 14th were issued a dividend of $0.07 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 14th. This represents a $0.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.69%. First Northwest Bancorp’s payout ratio is presently -80.00%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. StockNews.com initiated coverage on shares of First Northwest Bancorp in a report on Tuesday. They set a “hold” rating for the company. Piper Sandler increased their price objective on First Northwest Bancorp from $11.00 to $12.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Hovde Group initiated coverage on First Northwest Bancorp in a research note on Monday, January 13th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $13.50 target price on the stock.

First Northwest Bancorp Company Profile

First Northwest Bancorp operates as a bank holding company for First Fed Bank that provides commercial and consumer banking services to individuals, businesses, and nonprofit organizations in western Washington, the United States. The company accepts various deposit instruments, including checking, money market deposit, savings, and transaction accounts, as well as certificates of deposit.