Short Interest in Finward Bancorp (NASDAQ:FNWD) Expands By 8.6%

Finward Bancorp (NASDAQ:FNWD) was the target of a significant growth in short interest in the month of October. As of October 31st, there was short interest totalling 3,800 shares, a growth of 8.6% from the October 15th total of 3,500 shares. Approximately 0.1% of the shares of the stock are short sold. Based on an average trading volume of 3,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 1.3 days.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

Finward Bancorp Trading Down 0.8 %

Shares of FNWD stock opened at $31.15 on Tuesday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $30.98 and a 200 day simple moving average of $27.62. The stock has a market capitalization of $134.38 million, a P/E ratio of 11.58 and a beta of 0.53. Finward Bancorp has a fifty-two week low of $20.00 and a fifty-two week high of $33.50. The company has a quick ratio of 0.86, a current ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57.

Finward Bancorp (NASDAQ:FNWD) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 29th. The company reported $0.14 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.18 by ($0.04). Finward Bancorp had a net margin of 10.44% and a return on equity of 7.73%. The business had revenue of $14.87 million for the quarter. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Finward Bancorp will post 0.08 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Finward Bancorp Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, October 31st. Shareholders of record on Friday, October 18th were issued a $0.12 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, October 18th. This represents a $0.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.54%. Finward Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio is currently 17.84%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Finward Bancorp

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Global Financial Private Client LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Finward Bancorp during the first quarter valued at $26,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP acquired a new stake in Finward Bancorp during the 2nd quarter worth about $329,000. Black Maple Capital Management LP purchased a new stake in Finward Bancorp during the first quarter valued at about $612,000. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings 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 buying an additional 2,825 shares during the period. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Finward Bancorp by 3.4% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 159,750 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,930,000 after acquiring an additional 5,206 shares in the last quarter. 26.59% of the stock is owned by 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.