Short Interest in Finward Bancorp (NASDAQ:FNWD) Increases By 15.8%

Finward Bancorp (NASDAQ:FNWD) was the recipient of a large increase in short interest in November. As of November 15th, there was short interest totalling 4,400 shares, an increase of 15.8% from the October 31st total of 3,800 shares. Currently, 0.1% of the company’s shares are sold short. Based on an average daily volume of 3,200 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 1.4 days.

Finward Bancorp Stock Up 0.9 %

Shares of NASDAQ FNWD traded up $0.29 on Friday, hitting $31.20. The company had a trading volume of 1,229 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,373. The firm has a market capitalization of $134.60 million, a P/E ratio of 11.60 and a beta of 0.53. 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 12-month low of $20.64 and a 12-month high of $33.50. The business has a 50 day moving average of $31.36 and a two-hundred day moving average of $28.05.

Finward Bancorp (NASDAQ:FNWD) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 29th. The company reported $0.14 earnings per share (EPS) 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 7.60%. The firm had revenue of $14.87 million during the quarter. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Finward Bancorp will post 0.08 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Finward Bancorp Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, October 31st. Stockholders of record on Friday, October 18th were given a dividend of $0.12 per share. This represents a $0.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.54%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, October 18th. Finward Bancorp’s payout ratio is 17.84%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP bought a new position in Finward Bancorp during the 2nd quarter valued at $329,000. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 5,206 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Finward Bancorp by 7.9% during 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 last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 26.59% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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