Sound Financial Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:SFBC) Short Interest Update

On December 30, 2024, an update on Sound Financial Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:SFBC) indicated a notable decrease in short interest over the previous month. As of December 15, the total short interest for SFBC was reported at 2,100 shares, which represents a 16.0% drop compared to the 2,500 shares noted on November 30. The current average daily trading volume stands at 1,600 shares, resulting in a days-to-cover ratio of 1.3 days. This indicates that 0.1% of the company's shares are currently sold short.

Recent Stock Performance

During trading on Monday, shares of NASDAQ:SFBC increased by $2.31, reaching a price of $54.95. The trading volume was recorded at 1,499 shares, below the average volume of 2,741 shares. The market capitalization of Sound Financial Bancorp is approximately $140.89 million, with a price-to-earnings (P/E) ratio of 35.92 and a beta of 0.68. Over the past year, the stock has fluctuated between a low of $39.00 and a high of $55.99. The company's 50-day moving average is $53.83, while the 200-day moving average is $49.97. Additionally, Sound Financial Bancorp maintains a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51, with both a current ratio and a quick ratio of 1.12.

Dividend Announcement

Recently, the company announced a quarterly dividend, which was disbursed on November 26. Shareholders who were on record as of November 12 received a dividend payout of $0.19 per share. This translates to an annualized dividend of $0.76, yielding a rate of 1.38%. The payout ratio currently stands at 49.67%.

Insider Transactions

In recent insider news, Director James E. Sweeney sold 592 shares of Sound Financial Bancorp’s stock on November 8. The shares were sold at an average price of $52.57, totaling approximately $31,121.44 in value. After the sale, the director holds 2,942 shares, valued at $154,660.94, marking a 16.75% decrease in his holdings. This transaction has been documented and is available for review through SEC filings. Throughout the past three months, insiders have sold a total of 1,026 shares valued at around $54,446, indicating that insiders own 12.60% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investor Activity

Several significant institutional investors have made adjustments to their positions in Sound Financial Bancorp recently. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings by 6.3% in the third quarter, now owning 23,885 shares worth approximately $1,278,000 after purchasing an additional 1,407 shares. State Street Corp also grew its stake by 10.9%, acquiring 500 more shares to bring its total to 5,095 shares valued at $273,000. Arcus Capital Partners LLC established a new position in the stock valued at around $503,000, while Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its stake by 7.2%, now owning 16,811 shares worth $739,000 after another acquisition of 1,122 shares. Institutional and hedge fund ownership accounts for 68.85% of Sound Financial Bancorp’s stock.

Company Overview

Sound Financial Bancorp, Inc. acts as the holding company for Sound Community Bank, providing various banking and financial services to both consumers and businesses. The bank offers several deposit products, including savings accounts, money market deposits, NOW accounts, demand accounts, as well as certificates of deposit.

finance, stocks, investment