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

Finward Bancorp (NASDAQ:FNWD) saw a large increase in short interest during the month of 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. Approximately 0.1% of the company’s stock are sold short. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 4,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 0.9 days.

Finward Bancorp Stock Up 5.1 %

Finward Bancorp stock opened at $29.45 on Thursday. 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 company’s 50-day moving average is $27.46 and its 200-day moving average is $25.48. The firm has a market capitalization of $126.93 million, a PE ratio of 8.18 and a beta of 0.52. Finward Bancorp has a fifty-two week low of $17.29 and a fifty-two week high of $29.59.

Finward Bancorp (NASDAQ:FNWD) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 24th. The company reported $0.03 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.09) by $0.12. The business had revenue of $24.70 million during the quarter. Finward Bancorp had a return on equity of 9.26% and a net margin of 12.00%. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Finward Bancorp will post 0.18 earnings per share for the current year.

Finward Bancorp Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 1st. Investors of record on Friday, July 19th were issued a dividend of $0.12 per share. This represents a $0.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.63%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, July 19th. Finward Bancorp’s payout ratio is presently 13.33%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Finward Bancorp

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP bought a new position in shares of Finward Bancorp in the second quarter valued at about $329,000. Global Financial Private Client LLC bought a new stake in shares of Finward Bancorp during the 1st quarter worth about $26,000. Black Maple Capital Management LP acquired a new position in Finward Bancorp in the 1st quarter valued at about $612,000. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in 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 acquiring an additional 5,206 shares during the period. Finally, PL Capital Advisors LLC lifted its position in Finward Bancorp by 257.6% during the first quarter. PL Capital Advisors LLC now owns 354,822 shares of the company’s stock worth $8,729,000 after acquiring an additional 255,595 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 26.59% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Separately, Hovde Group upgraded shares of Finward Bancorp from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $31.00 target price on the stock in a 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.