Finward Bancorp (NASDAQ:FNWD) Short Interest Up 5.7% in December

Finward Bancorp (NASDAQ:FNWD) was the target of a large increase in short interest in December. As of December 15th, there was short interest totalling 3,700 shares, an increase of 5.7% from the November 30th total of 3,500 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 2,900 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 1.3 days. Approximately 0.1% of the company’s shares are sold short.

Finward Bancorp Stock Performance

Shares of FNWD stock opened at $28.11 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.53, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a current ratio of 0.86. Finward Bancorp has a 52 week low of $22.82 and a 52 week high of $33.50. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $30.69 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $28.94. The company has a market capitalization of $121.27 million, a P/E ratio of 10.45 and a beta of 0.52.

Finward Bancorp (NASDAQ:FNWD) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 29th. The company reported $0.14 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.18 by ($0.04). The company had revenue of $14.87 million for the quarter. Finward Bancorp had a return on equity of 7.60% and a net margin of 10.44%. On average, analysts expect that Finward Bancorp will post 0.08 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Finward Bancorp Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, February 3rd. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, January 21st will be given a dividend of $0.12 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, January 21st. This represents a $0.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.71%. Finward Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio is currently 17.84%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A hedge fund recently bought a new stake in Finward Bancorp stock. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP purchased a new position in shares of Finward Bancorp (NASDAQ:FNWD) in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 13,402 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $329,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP owned approximately 0.31% of Finward Bancorp as of its most recent SEC filing. 26.59% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.