PL Capital Advisors LLC Buys 9,644,355 Shares of Finward Bancorp (NASDAQ:FNWD)

PL Capital Advisors LLC raised its stake in Finward Bancorp (NASDAQ:FNWD) by 2,718.1% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 9,999,177 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 9,644,355 shares during the quarter. Finward Bancorp makes up about 3.3% of PL Capital Advisors LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 10th largest holding. PL Capital Advisors LLC owned about 232.00% of Finward Bancorp worth $281,077,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Separately, Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in Finward Bancorp by 7.9% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 38,662 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,237,000 after purchasing an additional 2,825 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 26.59% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Carolyn M. Burke bought 1,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 3rd. The shares were purchased at an average price of $26.80 per share, with a total value of $26,800.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now directly owns 1,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $26,800. This trade represents a ∞ increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Insiders purchased 2,733 shares of company stock valued at $76,140 over the last 90 days. 5.17% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Finward Bancorp Trading Down 1.3 %

Finward Bancorp stock opened at $26.31 on Wednesday. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $27.45 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $29.22. Finward Bancorp has a 52-week low of $22.82 and a 52-week high of $33.50. The firm has a market capitalization of $113.50 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.30 and a beta of 0.54. The company has a quick ratio of 0.86, a current ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.53.

Finward Bancorp (NASDAQ:FNWD) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 4th. The company reported $0.49 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.18 by $0.31. Finward Bancorp had a return on equity of 7.91% and a net margin of 10.85%. Sell-side analysts expect that Finward Bancorp will post 0.9 earnings per share for the current year.

Finward Bancorp Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, February 3rd. Investors of record on Tuesday, January 21st were paid a dividend of $0.12 per share. This represents a $0.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.82%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, January 21st. Finward Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio is currently 16.96%.

About Finward Bancorp

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.