Finward Bancorp (NASDAQ:FNWD) Short Interest Down 13.7% in February

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

Finward Bancorp Stock Down 0.1 %

Shares of FNWD traded down $0.03 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $29.35. 1,839 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 4,064. The company has a current ratio of 0.86, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.53. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $27.12 and a 200 day simple moving average of $29.27. Finward Bancorp has a 52 week low of $23.50 and a 52 week high of $33.50. The company has a market cap of $126.62 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.40 and a beta of 0.53.

Finward Bancorp (NASDAQ:FNWD) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 4th. The company reported $0.49 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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, equities analysts forecast that Finward Bancorp will post 0.9 EPS for the current year.

Finward Bancorp Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, February 3rd. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, January 21st were paid a $0.12 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, January 21st. This represents a $0.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.64%. Finward Bancorp’s payout ratio is 16.96%.

Insider Transactions at Finward Bancorp

In related news, Director Carolyn M. Burke acquired 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 3rd. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $26.80 per share, for a total transaction of $26,800.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 1,000 shares in the company, valued at $26,800. This trade represents a ∞ increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Robert W. Youman acquired 1,400 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 11th. The shares were bought at an average price of $27.76 per share, with a total value of $38,864.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 22,773 shares in the company, valued at $632,178.48. This represents a 6.55 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders bought 6,472 shares of company stock valued at $174,563. Company insiders own 13.70% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Finward Bancorp

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Northern Trust Corp increased its stake in shares of Finward Bancorp by 37.5% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 15,021 shares of the company’s stock worth $422,000 after purchasing an additional 4,098 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its holdings in Finward Bancorp by 8.6% during the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 17,641 shares of the company’s stock worth $496,000 after acquiring an additional 1,393 shares during the period. Finward Bancorp bought a new stake in Finward Bancorp during the 4th quarter worth approximately $4,175,000. Alliancebernstein L.P. increased its holdings in Finward Bancorp by 10.6% during the 4th 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. Finally, Commonwealth Equity Services LLC bought a new stake in Finward Bancorp during the 4th quarter worth approximately $221,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 26.59% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

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

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.