Short Interest in Finward Bancorp (NASDAQ:FNWD) Drops By 13.7%

Finward Bancorp (NASDAQ:FNWD) was the recipient of a large drop in short interest during the month of February. As of February 28th, there was short interest totalling 6,300 shares, a drop of 13.7% from the February 13th total of 7,300 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 3,700 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 1.7 days. Currently, 0.2% of the company’s shares are short sold.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Separately, Hovde Group lowered Finward Bancorp from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a report on Monday.

Finward Bancorp Stock Down 1.0 %

Shares of FNWD stock opened at $29.09 on Thursday. Finward Bancorp has a 1-year low of $23.50 and a 1-year high of $33.50. The company has a market cap of $125.49 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.28 and a beta of 0.53. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.53, a current ratio of 0.86 and a quick ratio of 0.86. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $27.14 and its 200 day moving average price is $29.27.

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

Finward Bancorp Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, February 3rd. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, January 21st were issued a $0.12 dividend. This represents a $0.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.65%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, January 21st. Finward Bancorp’s payout ratio is 16.96%.

Insider Activity at Finward Bancorp

In other Finward Bancorp news, Director Carolyn M. Burke acquired 1,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 3rd. The stock was bought at an average price of $26.80 per share, for a total transaction of $26,800.00. Following the acquisition, the director now directly owns 1,000 shares in the company, valued at $26,800. The trade was a ∞ increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Robert W. Youman purchased 1,400 shares of Finward Bancorp stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 11th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $27.76 per share, for a total transaction of $38,864.00. Following the purchase, the director now directly owns 22,773 shares in the company, valued at $632,178.48. This trade represents a 6.55 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders acquired 6,472 shares of company stock valued at $174,563. Insiders own 13.70% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Finward Bancorp

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. PL Capital Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Finward Bancorp by 2,718.1% in the fourth quarter. PL Capital Advisors LLC now owns 9,999,177 shares of the company’s stock worth $281,077,000 after buying an additional 9,644,355 shares during the last quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. raised its position in Finward Bancorp by 10.6% during the fourth quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 344,926 shares of the company’s stock worth $9,696,000 after acquiring an additional 33,036 shares during the period. Finward Bancorp purchased a new position in Finward Bancorp during the fourth quarter valued at $4,175,000. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of Finward Bancorp by 7.9% in the third 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 period. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its stake in shares of Finward Bancorp by 8.6% during the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 17,641 shares of the company’s stock worth $496,000 after purchasing an additional 1,393 shares in the last quarter. 26.59% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.