First Financial Northwest, Inc. (NASDAQ:FFNW) Short Interest Update

First Financial Northwest, Inc. (NASDAQ:FFNW) was the target of 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 days-to-cover ratio is presently 5.2 days. Currently, 3.4% of the company’s stock are short sold.

First Financial Northwest Stock Performance

First Financial Northwest stock traded up $0.52 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $22.37. 53,822 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 38,112. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $21.27 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $20.72. First Financial Northwest has a fifty-two week low of $10.09 and a fifty-two week high of $22.48. The stock has a market cap of $205.13 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 67.61 and a beta of 0.54. 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 announced its quarterly 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). First Financial Northwest had a net margin of 3.78% and a return on equity of 1.94%. The business had revenue of $9.69 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.93 million. On average, research analysts expect that First Financial Northwest will post 0.25 EPS for the current fiscal year.

First Financial Northwest Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 21st. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 7th were issued a dividend of $0.13 per share. This represents a $0.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.32%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, June 7th. First Financial Northwest’s dividend payout ratio is currently 157.58%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Separately, Piper Sandler cut First Financial Northwest from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $23.50 target price for the company. in a research note on Friday.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On First Financial Northwest

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Choreo LLC increased its position in shares of First Financial Northwest by 15.6% in the fourth 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 second quarter worth $411,000. Black Maple Capital Management LP increased its position in shares of First Financial Northwest by 86.1% in the fourth 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. Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its position in shares of First Financial Northwest by 45.2% in the second quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 63,223 shares of the bank’s stock worth $1,336,000 after purchasing an additional 19,670 shares during the period. Finally, Strategic Value Bank Partners LLC increased its position in shares of First Financial Northwest by 6.4% in the fourth 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 and hedge funds 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.