Short Interest in Finward Bancorp (NASDAQ:FNWD) Expands By 8.6%

Finward Bancorp (NASDAQ:FNWD) was the recipient of a large growth in short interest in the month of October. As of October 31st, there was short interest totalling 3,800 shares, a growth of 8.6% from the October 15th total of 3,500 shares. Currently, 0.1% of the shares of the company are short sold. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 3,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 1.3 days.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Separately, Hovde Group raised Finward Bancorp from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $31.00 price target on the stock in a report on Friday, September 6th.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Finward Bancorp

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in Finward Bancorp by 3.4% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 159,750 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,930,000 after buying an additional 5,206 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP purchased a new stake in shares of Finward Bancorp in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $329,000. Global Financial Private Client LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Finward Bancorp in the 1st quarter worth approximately $26,000. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Finward Bancorp by 7.9% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 38,662 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,237,000 after purchasing an additional 2,825 shares during the period. Finally, Black Maple Capital Management LP purchased a new stake in shares of Finward Bancorp in the 1st quarter worth approximately $612,000. 26.59% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Finward Bancorp Price Performance

NASDAQ FNWD traded down $0.25 on Monday, reaching $31.15. The company had a trading volume of 1,949 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,923. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $30.98 and its 200 day moving average price is $27.62. Finward Bancorp has a 12 month low of $20.00 and a 12 month high of $33.50. The company has a quick ratio of 0.86, a current ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57. The stock has a market capitalization of $134.38 million, a PE ratio of 11.58 and a beta of 0.53.

Finward Bancorp (NASDAQ:FNWD) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The company reported $0.14 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.18 by ($0.04). Finward Bancorp had a return on equity of 7.73% and a net margin of 10.44%. The business had revenue of $14.87 million during the quarter. As a group, equities analysts predict that Finward Bancorp will post 0.08 earnings per share for the current year.

Finward Bancorp Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, October 31st. Investors of record on Friday, October 18th were paid a dividend of $0.12 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, October 18th. This represents a $0.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.54%. Finward Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio is presently 17.84%.

Finward Bancorp Company Profile

Finward Bancorp operates as the holding company for Peoples Bank that provides various banking products and services. The company’s deposit products include non-interest- and interest-bearing demand accounts, savings accounts, money market deposit accounts, certificate accounts, and retirement savings plans.