Short Interest in First Financial Northwest, Inc. (NASDAQ:FFNW) Decreases By 8.4%

First Financial Northwest, Inc. (NASDAQ:FFNW - Get Free Report) was the target of a significant decline in short interest in September. As of September 30th, there was short interest totalling 174,500 shares, a decline of 8.4% from the September 15th total of 190,600 shares. Currently, 2.5% of the company's stock are short sold. Based on an average trading volume of 39,400 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 4.4 days.

First Financial Northwest Stock Performance

Shares of FFNW traded up $0.08 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $23.05. 20,836 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 40,384. The stock has a market cap of $211.46 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 69.61 and a beta of 0.53. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $22.42 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $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 - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 25th. The bank reported $0.17 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.04 by $0.13. First Financial Northwest had a return on equity of 1.98% and a net margin of 3.89%. The firm had revenue of $19.99 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.60 million. Equities analysts anticipate that First Financial Northwest will post 0.23 earnings per share for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on FFNW shares. StockNews.com upgraded shares of First Financial Northwest from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, October 11th. Piper Sandler cut First Financial Northwest from an "overweight" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $23.50 price objective on the stock. in a research report on Friday, July 26th.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On First Financial Northwest

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in FFNW. Black Maple Capital Management LP raised its position in First Financial Northwest by 45.8% in the first quarter. Black Maple Capital Management LP now owns 141,677 shares of the bank's stock worth $2,913,000 after acquiring an additional 44,494 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in First Financial Northwest by 6.2% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 368,446 shares of the bank's stock worth $7,575,000 after purchasing an additional 21,447 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its position in First Financial Northwest by 45.2% during the second quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 63,223 shares of the bank's stock valued at $1,336,000 after purchasing an additional 19,670 shares in the last quarter. Clear Harbor Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in First Financial Northwest during the second quarter valued at about $411,000. Finally, Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB publ purchased a new stake in First Financial Northwest in the second quarter worth about $403,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 55.00% of the company's stock.

About First Financial Northwest

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.

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