Finward Bancorp (NASDAQ:FNWD) Upgraded by Zacks Research to Hold Rating

Zacks Research upgraded shares of Finward Bancorp (NASDAQ:FNWD) to a hold rating in a report released on Monday morning,Zacks.com reports.

A number of other research firms have also weighed in on FNWD. Weiss Ratings upgraded Finward Bancorp from a “hold (c)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research note on Friday, June 26th. Stephens assumed coverage on Finward Bancorp in a research note on Friday, March 27th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $41.00 target price on the stock. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $41.00.

Finward Bancorp Stock Up 0.1%

FNWD stock opened at $36.30 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $157.18 million, a P/E ratio of 15.85 and a beta of 0.18. Finward Bancorp has a 12 month low of $26.46 and a 12 month high of $39.99. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $33.80 and its 200-day simple moving average is $35.20. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a current ratio of 0.87 and a quick ratio of 0.87.

Finward Bancorp (NASDAQ:FNWD) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, April 28th. The company reported $0.52 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.54 by ($0.02). Finward Bancorp had a return on equity of 5.92% and a net margin of 9.72%.The business had revenue of $17.49 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $18.45 million. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Finward Bancorp will post 2.63 earnings per share for the current year.

Finward Bancorp Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 29th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, June 17th were issued a $0.12 dividend. This represents a $0.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, June 17th. Finward Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 20.96%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. CWM LLC raised its position in shares of Finward Bancorp by 49.0% during the 4th quarter. CWM LLC now owns 897 shares of the company’s stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 295 shares during the last quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC boosted its holdings in Finward Bancorp by 0.7% in the 4th quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 49,434 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,740,000 after buying an additional 358 shares during the last quarter. Barclays PLC boosted its holdings in Finward Bancorp by 11.1% in the 4th quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 5,403 shares of the company’s stock worth $190,000 after buying an additional 541 shares during the last quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. increased its stake in Finward Bancorp by 42.5% during the 4th quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 1,898 shares of the company’s stock worth $67,000 after buying an additional 566 shares in the last quarter. Finally, BNP Paribas Financial Markets increased its stake in Finward Bancorp by 98.9% during the 3rd quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 1,291 shares of the company’s stock worth $41,000 after buying an additional 642 shares in the last quarter. 26.59% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Finward Bancorp

Finward Bancorp (NASDAQ: FNWD) is the bank holding company for Finward Bank, a community-focused financial institution serving businesses and individuals across Pennsylvania and Delaware. Through a network of full-service branches and a robust digital banking platform, Finward Bank delivers a range of personal and commercial banking solutions designed to meet the needs of local customers.

The company’s core offerings include deposit products such as checking accounts, savings accounts and time deposits, as well as a variety of lending solutions.