Short Interest in Sound Financial Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:SFBC) Drops By 16.0%

Sound Financial Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:SFBC) was the recipient of a large decrease in short interest in the month of December. As of December 15th, there was short interest totalling 2,100 shares, a decrease of 16.0% from the November 30th total of 2,500 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 1,600 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 1.3 days. Currently, 0.1% of the shares of the company are short sold.

Sound Financial Bancorp Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:SFBC traded down $0.99 on Friday, reaching $52.64. 2,916 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,749. The firm has a market cap of $134.97 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.41 and a beta of 0.68. 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 company has a 50-day moving average of $53.83 and a 200-day moving average of $49.91. Sound Financial Bancorp has a 1-year low of $38.61 and a 1-year high of $55.99.

Sound Financial Bancorp Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, November 26th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, November 12th were issued a $0.19 dividend. This represents a $0.76 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.44%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, November 12th. Sound Financial Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 49.67%.

Insider Activity 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 on Friday, November 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $52.57, for a total value of $31,121.44. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 2,942 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $154,660.94. The trade was a 16.75 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders sold a total of 1,026 shares of company stock valued at $54,446 in the last three months. 12.60% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Arcus Capital Partners LLC purchased a new stake in Sound Financial Bancorp in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $503,000. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Sound Financial Bancorp by 6.3% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 23,885 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $1,278,000 after acquiring an additional 1,407 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its position in Sound Financial Bancorp by 7.2% in the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 16,811 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $739,000 after purchasing an additional 1,122 shares during the period. Finally, State Street Corp lifted its position in Sound Financial Bancorp by 10.9% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 5,095 shares of the bank’s stock worth $273,000 after acquiring 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 Company Profile

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.