First Financial Northwest, Inc. (NASDAQ:FFNW) Short Interest Up 175.5% in July

First Financial Northwest, Inc. (NASDAQ:FFNW) saw a large increase in short interest in July. As of July 15th, there was short interest totalling 238,000 shares, an increase of 175.5% from the June 30th total of 86,400 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 45,600 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 5.2 days. Approximately 3.4% of the company’s stock are sold short.

First Financial Northwest Stock Down 1.5 %

First Financial Northwest stock traded down $0.33 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $21.85. The stock had a trading volume of 57,822 shares, compared to its average volume of 38,002. The company has a market capitalization of $200.36 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 66.21 and a beta of 0.54. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $21.26 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $20.71. First Financial Northwest has a one year low of $10.09 and a one year high of $22.48. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72, a current ratio of 1.03 and a quick ratio of 1.03.

First Financial Northwest (NASDAQ:FFNW) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, April 30th. The bank reported ($0.12) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.09 by ($0.21). The company had revenue of $9.69 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.93 million. First Financial Northwest had a net margin of 3.78% and a return on equity of 1.94%. On average, analysts expect that First Financial Northwest will post 0.25 EPS for the current fiscal year.

First Financial Northwest Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 21st. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 7th were paid a dividend of $0.13 per share. This represents a $0.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.38%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, June 7th. First Financial Northwest’s dividend payout ratio is currently 157.58%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On First Financial Northwest

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Choreo LLC lifted its stake in shares of First Financial Northwest by 15.6% in the 4th quarter. Choreo LLC now owns 19,280 shares of the bank’s stock worth $260,000 after purchasing an additional 2,600 shares during the period. Clear Harbor Asset Management LLC bought a new position in shares of First Financial Northwest in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $411,000. Black Maple Capital Management LP lifted its stake in shares of First Financial Northwest by 86.1% in the 4th quarter. Black Maple Capital Management LP now owns 97,183 shares of the bank’s stock worth $1,310,000 after purchasing an additional 44,952 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of First Financial Northwest by 6.2% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 368,446 shares of the bank’s stock worth $7,575,000 after purchasing an additional 21,447 shares during the period. Finally, Strategic Value Bank Partners LLC lifted its stake in shares of First Financial Northwest by 6.4% in the 4th quarter. Strategic Value Bank Partners LLC now owns 503,567 shares of the bank’s stock worth $6,788,000 after purchasing an additional 30,468 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 55.00% of the company’s stock.

First Financial Northwest Company Profile

First Financial Northwest, Inc operates as the bank holding company for First Financial Northwest Bank that provides commercial banking services in Washington. The company offers a range of deposit products, including noninterest-bearing accounts, interest-bearing demand accounts, money market accounts, savings accounts, and certificates of deposit.