Short Interest in Finward Bancorp (NASDAQ:FNWD) Expands By 9.4%

Finward Bancorp (NASDAQ:FNWD) was the recipient of a significant growth in short interest in the month of October. As of October 15th, there was short interest totalling 3,500 shares, a growth of 9.4% from the September 30th total of 3,200 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 3,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 1.2 days. Currently, 0.1% of the company’s shares are short sold.

Finward Bancorp Stock Down 0.0 %

Finward Bancorp stock traded down $0.01 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $31.23. The stock had a trading volume of 2,074 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,201. Finward Bancorp has a 52 week low of $18.06 and a 52 week high of $33.05. The company has a market cap of $134.73 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.21 and a beta of 0.53. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57, a current ratio of 0.86 and a quick ratio of 0.86. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $29.83 and its 200-day moving average price is $26.95.

Finward Bancorp (NASDAQ:FNWD) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The company reported $0.14 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.18 by ($0.04). Finward Bancorp had a net margin of 12.00% and a return on equity of 9.26%. The firm had revenue of $14.87 million for the quarter. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Finward Bancorp will post 0.18 EPS for the current year.

Finward Bancorp Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 31st. Investors of record on Friday, October 18th will be paid a dividend of $0.12 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, October 18th. This represents a $0.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.54%. Finward Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 15.69%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Global Financial Private Client LLC purchased a new position in shares of Finward Bancorp in the first quarter worth $26,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP purchased a new position in Finward Bancorp in the 2nd quarter worth $329,000. Black Maple Capital Management LP acquired a new stake in Finward Bancorp during the 1st quarter worth about $612,000. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Finward Bancorp by 3.4% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 159,750 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,930,000 after purchasing an additional 5,206 shares during the period. Finally, PL Capital Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Finward Bancorp by 257.6% in the first quarter. PL Capital Advisors LLC now owns 354,822 shares of the company’s stock worth $8,729,000 after purchasing an additional 255,595 shares during 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.