First Northwest Bancorp (NASDAQ:FNWB) Sees Significant Increase in Short Interest

First Northwest Bancorp (NASDAQ:FNWB) was the recipient of a large growth in short interest in 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. Based on an average daily volume of 19,400 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 0.8 days. Approximately 0.2% of the shares of the company are sold short.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Barclays PLC lifted its stake in shares of First Northwest Bancorp by 60.5% in 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 during the last quarter. Citadel Advisors LLC lifted its position in First Northwest Bancorp by 5.6% in the fourth quarter. Citadel Advisors LLC now owns 16,134 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $165,000 after buying an additional 860 shares during the last quarter. FNY Investment Advisers LLC purchased a new position in First Northwest Bancorp during the fourth quarter worth $277,000. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. bought a new position in First Northwest Bancorp during the third quarter valued at $350,000. Finally, Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership raised its stake in shares of First Northwest Bancorp by 48.4% in the fourth quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 47,923 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $489,000 after acquiring an additional 15,622 shares during the period. 66.11% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

First Northwest Bancorp Price Performance

Shares of First Northwest Bancorp stock traded up $0.27 on Wednesday, hitting $10.42. 23,356 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 20,996. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.08, a quick ratio of 1.04 and a current ratio of 1.04. The business 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 52 week low of $8.91 and a 52 week high of $15.85. The stock has a market capitalization of $97.51 million, a P/E ratio of -29.77 and a beta of 0.81.

First Northwest Bancorp (NASDAQ:FNWB) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The financial services provider reported ($0.32) earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates 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%. Research analysts expect that First Northwest Bancorp will post 0.5 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

First Northwest Bancorp Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 14th were paid a $0.07 dividend. This represents a $0.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.69%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 14th. First Northwest Bancorp’s payout ratio is -80.00%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

About First Northwest Bancorp

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.