First Financial Northwest, Inc. (NASDAQ:FFNW) Sees Significant Decline in Short Interest

First Financial Northwest, Inc. (NASDAQ:FFNW) was the target of a significant drop in short interest during the month of September. As of September 30th, there was short interest totalling 174,500 shares, a drop of 8.4% from the September 15th total of 190,600 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 39,400 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 4.4 days. Approximately 2.5% of the shares of the company are sold short.

Institutional Trading of First Financial Northwest

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Rhumbline Advisers purchased a new stake in shares of First Financial Northwest in the second quarter valued at $188,000. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC raised 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 acquiring an additional 1,069 shares in the last quarter. B.O.S.S. Retirement Advisors LLC purchased a new position in First Financial Northwest in the third quarter valued at about $312,000. Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB publ acquired a new position in First Financial Northwest in the 2nd quarter worth about $403,000. Finally, Clear Harbor Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of First Financial Northwest during the 2nd quarter worth about $411,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 55.00% of the company’s stock.

First Financial Northwest Stock Performance

Shares of FFNW traded up $0.08 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $23.05. 21,766 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 40,389. The firm has a market capitalization of $211.46 million, a PE ratio of 69.85 and a beta of 0.53. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $22.42 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $21.51. First Financial Northwest has a 1-year low of $10.09 and a 1-year high of $23.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.10, a quick ratio of 1.10 and a current ratio of 1.10.

First Financial Northwest (NASDAQ:FFNW) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 25th. The bank reported $0.17 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.04 by $0.13. First Financial Northwest had a net margin of 3.89% and a return on equity of 1.98%. The business had revenue of $19.99 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.60 million. Equities research analysts predict that First Financial Northwest will post 0.23 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

FFNW has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. StockNews.com upgraded shares of First Financial Northwest from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, October 11th. Piper Sandler lowered shares of First Financial Northwest from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $23.50 price objective for the company. in a research report on Friday, July 26th.

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.