Finward Bancorp (NASDAQ:FNWD) Short Interest Update

Finward Bancorp (NASDAQ:FNWD) was the target of a large increase in short interest in November. As of November 15th, there was short interest totalling 4,400 shares, an increase of 15.8% from the October 31st total of 3,800 shares. Approximately 0.1% of the shares of the stock are short sold. Based on an average daily volume of 3,200 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 1.4 days.

Analyst Ratings Changes

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

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Finward Bancorp

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings 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 buying an additional 2,825 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP acquired a new position in shares of Finward Bancorp in the 2nd quarter valued at $329,000. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Finward Bancorp by 3.4% in the 1st 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 last quarter. 26.59% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Finward Bancorp Price Performance

FNWD stock traded up $0.29 during trading on Friday, hitting $31.20. The stock had a trading volume of 1,229 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,373. Finward Bancorp has a 1-year low of $20.64 and a 1-year high of $33.50. The stock has a market cap of $134.60 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.60 and a beta of 0.53. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $31.36 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $28.05. 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 (NASDAQ:FNWD) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 29th. The company reported $0.14 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.18 by ($0.04). The firm had revenue of $14.87 million during the quarter. Finward Bancorp had a net margin of 10.44% and a return on equity of 7.60%. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Finward Bancorp will post 0.08 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Finward Bancorp Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, October 31st. Stockholders of record on Friday, October 18th were given a $0.12 dividend. This represents a $0.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.54%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, October 18th. Finward Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio is currently 17.84%.

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.