Brokerages expect First Financial Northwest, Inc. (NASDAQ:FFNW) to report earnings per share (EPS) of $0.33 for the current fiscal quarter, according to Zacks. Two analysts provided earnings estimates for First Financial Northwest. The lowest EPS estimate is $0.31 and the highest is $0.35. First Financial Northwest reported earnings per share of $0.28 in the same quarter last year, suggesting a positive year-over-year growth rate of 17.9%. The company is expected to release its next earnings report on Thursday, January 27.

On average, analysts expect First Financial Northwest to report annual earnings of $1.31 per share for the current year, with EPS estimates ranging from $1.28 to $1.34. For the next fiscal year, analysts expect the company to post earnings of $1.18 per share, with EPS estimates ranging from $1.10 to $1.30. Zacks Investment Research’s earnings per share calculations are an average average based on a survey of sell-side analysts who follow First Financial Northwest.

First Financial Northwest (NASDAQ:FFNW) last released its results on Thursday, October 28. The bank reported earnings per share (EPS) of $0.34 for the quarter, beating the Zacks consensus estimate of $0.29 by $0.05. First Financial Northwest had a net margin of 20.69% and a return on equity of 7.62%. The company posted revenue of $12.39 million for the quarter, versus $11.96 million expected by analysts.

Separately, Zacks Investment Research downgraded shares of First Financial Northwest from a “strong buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a Monday, January 3, research rating.

NASDAQ FFNW shares opened at $16.66 on Monday. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $16.56 and its two-hundred-day moving average price is $16.23. First Financial Northwest has a 52-week low of $12.15 and a 52-week high of $17.25. The stock has a market capitalization of $155.79 million, a P/E ratio of 13.02 and a beta of 0.54. The company has a quick ratio of 1.04, a current ratio of 1.04 and a debt ratio of 0.74.

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 17. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 3 received a dividend of $0.11. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, December 2. This represents an annualized dividend of $0.44 and a dividend yield of 2.64%. First Financial Northwest’s payout ratio is currently 34.38%.

Separately, CEO Joseph W. Kiley III sold 10,000 shares of the company in a transaction that took place on Friday, December 10. The shares were sold at an average price of $16.05, for a total transaction of $160,500.00. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Additionally, CEO Joseph W. Kiley III sold 15,000 shares of the company in a transaction that took place on Monday, December 13. The shares were sold at an average price of $15.99, for a total transaction of $239,850.00. The disclosure of this sale can be found here. 6.87% of the shares are currently held by insiders of the company.

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently been buying and selling stocks. Barclays PLC increased its position in First Financial Northwest by 245.0% in the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 2,332 shares in the bank worth $38,000 after buying a further 1,656 shares in the last quarter. Morgan Stanley increased its position in First Financial Northwest by 55.2% in the first quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 11,231 shares of the bank worth $160,000 after buying 3,994 more shares in the last quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC acquired a new position in First Financial Northwest in the second quarter worth approximately $162,000. State Street Corp increased its position in First Financial Northwest by 109.7% in the second quarter. State Street Corp now owns 22,915 shares of the bank worth $347,000 after buying an additional 11,986 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp increased its position in First Financial Northwest by 7.3% in the second quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 25,144 shares in the bank worth $381,000 after buying 1,709 more shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds hold 40.87% of the company’s shares.

About First Financial Northwest

First Financial Northwest, Inc. is a bank holding company, which engages in attracting deposits from the general public and provides lending services. Through its subsidiary, First Savings Bank Northwest, it offers commercial banking, dynamic savings, stored savings, lent savings, commercial savings, checking accounts and money market accounts.

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