Short Interest in First Financial Northwest, Inc. (NASDAQ:FFNW) Decreases By 9.7%

First Financial Northwest, Inc. (NASDAQ:FFNW) was the recipient of a significant decrease in short interest during the month of November. As of November 15th, there was short interest totalling 122,100 shares, a decrease of 9.7% from the October 31st total of 135,200 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 35,500 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 3.4 days. Currently, 1.6% of the shares of the stock are short sold.

Institutional Trading of First Financial Northwest

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. MetLife Investment Management LLC increased its stake in shares of First Financial Northwest by 129.0% in the third quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC now owns 4,113 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $93,000 after buying an additional 2,317 shares during the period. Rhumbline Advisers bought a new position in shares of First Financial Northwest during the second quarter valued at $188,000. Barclays PLC raised its stake in shares of First Financial Northwest by 272.9% during the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 9,140 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $206,000 after acquiring an additional 6,689 shares during the last quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC lifted its holdings in shares of First Financial Northwest by 9.8% during the second quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 11,986 shares of the bank’s stock worth $253,000 after purchasing an additional 1,069 shares during the period. Finally, B.O.S.S. Retirement Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of First Financial Northwest in the third quarter worth $312,000. 55.00% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Separately, StockNews.com downgraded First Financial Northwest from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 29th.

First Financial Northwest Price Performance

FFNW stock traded down $0.27 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $22.30. 12,937 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 37,781. The company has a market capitalization of $205.83 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 202.75 and a beta of 0.52. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62, a current ratio of 1.04 and a quick ratio of 1.04. The company has a 50-day moving average of $22.54 and a two-hundred day moving average of $21.98. First Financial Northwest has a twelve month low of $12.10 and a twelve month high of $23.50.

First Financial Northwest (NASDAQ:FFNW) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The bank reported ($0.07) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.07 by ($0.14). First Financial Northwest had a return on equity of 0.66% and a net margin of 1.31%. The company had revenue of $20.09 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.49 million. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.16 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts predict that First Financial Northwest will post 0.09 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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.