Finward Bancorp (NASDAQ:FNWD) Short Interest Down 27.0% in March

Finward Bancorp (NASDAQ:FNWD) was the target of a large decline in short interest during the month of March. As of March 15th, there was short interest totalling 4,600 shares, a decline of 27.0% from the February 28th total of 6,300 shares. Currently, 0.1% of the shares of the stock are short sold. Based on an average trading volume of 4,200 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 1.1 days.

Finward Bancorp Trading Up 0.1 %

FNWD traded up $0.04 on Monday, reaching $29.14. 2,730 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,942. The company has a market cap of $125.71 million, a P/E ratio of 10.30 and a beta of 0.53. 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 has a one year low of $23.50 and a one year high of $33.50. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $27.39 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $29.37.

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Separately, Hovde Group downgraded Finward Bancorp from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research report on Monday, March 17th.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Finward Bancorp

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC purchased a new position in shares of Finward Bancorp during the fourth quarter valued at $221,000. Northern Trust Corp increased its position in Finward Bancorp by 37.5% during the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 15,021 shares of the company’s stock valued at $422,000 after purchasing an additional 4,098 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its position in Finward Bancorp by 8.6% during the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 17,641 shares of the company’s stock valued at $496,000 after purchasing an additional 1,393 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Finward Bancorp purchased a new stake in shares of Finward Bancorp in the 4th quarter worth approximately $4,175,000. 26.59% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.