Finward Bancorp (NASDAQ:FNWD) Sees Large Increase in Short Interest

Finward Bancorp (NASDAQ:FNWD) was the recipient of a significant increase in short interest in August. As of August 31st, there was short interest totalling 3,700 shares, an increase of 5.7% from the August 15th total of 3,500 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 4,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 0.9 days. Approximately 0.1% of the company’s shares are sold short.

Finward Bancorp Trading Down 2.3 %

FNWD stock traded down $0.67 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $28.03. 4,441 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 6,673. The company has a market capitalization of $120.81 million, a P/E ratio of 7.97 and a beta of 0.52. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57, a current ratio of 0.86 and a quick ratio of 0.86. Finward Bancorp has a fifty-two week low of $17.29 and a fifty-two week high of $29.59. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $27.30 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $25.42.

Finward Bancorp (NASDAQ:FNWD) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 24th. The company reported $0.03 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.09) by $0.12. Finward Bancorp had a net margin of 12.00% and a return on equity of 9.26%. The firm had revenue of $24.70 million for the quarter. Equities research analysts forecast that Finward Bancorp will post 0.18 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Finward Bancorp Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, July 19th were given a dividend of $0.12 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, July 19th. This represents a $0.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.71%. Finward Bancorp’s payout ratio is currently 13.33%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Global Financial Private Client LLC acquired a new position in shares of Finward Bancorp during the first quarter worth $26,000. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Finward Bancorp by 3.4% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 159,750 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,930,000 after purchasing an additional 5,206 shares in the last quarter. Mesirow Financial Investment Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Finward Bancorp during the first quarter worth $262,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP acquired a new position in shares of Finward Bancorp during the second quarter worth $329,000. Finally, Black Maple Capital Management LP bought a new stake in shares of Finward Bancorp in the first quarter worth $612,000. 26.59% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

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.