Finward Bancorp (NASDAQ:FNWD) Short Interest Update

Finward Bancorp (NASDAQ:FNWD) saw a large increase in short interest during the month of January. As of January 31st, there was short interest totalling 6,500 shares, an increase of 47.7% from the January 15th total of 4,400 shares. Currently, 0.2% of the company’s shares are short sold. Based on an average trading volume of 3,800 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 1.7 days.

Finward Bancorp Trading Up 0.8 %

NASDAQ FNWD opened at $26.38 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $113.70 million, a PE ratio of 9.32 and a beta of 0.54. The company has a current ratio of 0.86, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.53. Finward Bancorp has a 12 month low of $22.82 and a 12 month high of $33.50. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $28.23 and a 200-day moving average of $29.29.

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

Finward Bancorp Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, February 3rd. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, January 21st were given a dividend of $0.12 per share. This represents a $0.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.82%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, January 21st. Finward Bancorp’s payout ratio is 16.96%.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Carolyn M. Burke purchased 1,000 shares of Finward Bancorp stock in a transaction on Monday, February 3rd. The stock was purchased at an average price of $26.80 per share, with a total value of $26,800.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 1,000 shares in the company, valued at $26,800. The trade was a ∞ increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders purchased a total of 2,733 shares of company stock valued at $76,140 in the last ninety days. 13.70% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. PL Capital Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Finward Bancorp by 2,718.1% in the fourth quarter. PL Capital Advisors LLC now owns 9,999,177 shares of the company’s stock worth $281,077,000 after purchasing an additional 9,644,355 shares during the period. Finward Bancorp bought a new position in shares of Finward Bancorp in the fourth quarter worth $4,175,000. Alliancebernstein L.P. increased its position in shares of Finward Bancorp by 10.6% in the fourth quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 344,926 shares of the company’s stock worth $9,696,000 after purchasing an additional 33,036 shares during the period. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC bought a new position in shares of Finward Bancorp in the fourth quarter worth $221,000. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Finward Bancorp by 7.9% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 38,662 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,237,000 after purchasing an additional 2,825 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 26.59% of the company’s stock.

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.