Finward Bancorp (NASDAQ:FNWD) Short Interest Up 5.7% in December

Finward Bancorp (NASDAQ:FNWD) was the target of a significant growth in short interest in December. As of December 15th, there was short interest totalling 3,700 shares, a growth of 5.7% from the November 30th total of 3,500 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 2,900 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 1.3 days. Currently, 0.1% of the shares of the stock are short sold.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Finward Bancorp

An institutional investor recently raised its position in Finward Bancorp stock. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in Finward Bancorp (NASDAQ:FNWD) by 7.9% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 38,662 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,825 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC owned approximately 0.90% of Finward Bancorp worth $1,237,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 26.59% of the company’s stock.

Finward Bancorp Stock Down 0.7 %

Shares of FNWD stock opened at $28.11 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $121.27 million, a P/E ratio of 10.45 and a beta of 0.52. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $30.75 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $28.95. 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 52 week low of $22.82 and a 52 week high of $33.50.

Finward Bancorp (NASDAQ:FNWD) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The company reported $0.14 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.18 by ($0.04). Finward Bancorp had a net margin of 10.44% and a return on equity of 7.60%. The firm had revenue of $14.87 million for the quarter. Analysts predict that Finward Bancorp will post 0.08 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Finward Bancorp Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, February 3rd. Investors of record on Tuesday, January 21st will be given a $0.12 dividend. This represents a $0.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.71%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, January 21st. Finward Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio is presently 17.84%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

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

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.