Short Interest in Finward Bancorp (NASDAQ:FNWD) Decreases By 29.5%

Finward Bancorp (NASDAQ:FNWD) saw a large decrease in short interest in October. As of October 15th, there was short interest totaling 91,800 shares, a decrease of 29.5% from the September 30th total of 130,200 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 39,500 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 2.3 days. Approximately 2.7% of the shares of the stock are short sold. Approximately 2.7% of the shares of the stock are short sold. Based on an average trading volume of 39,500 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 2.3 days.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Finward Bancorp

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. PL Capital Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Finward Bancorp by 11.2% in the 1st quarter. PL Capital Advisors LLC now owns 395,716 shares of the company’s stock worth $11,515,000 after acquiring an additional 40,000 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Finward Bancorp by 99.7% in the 2nd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 81,669 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,256,000 after acquiring an additional 40,778 shares during the last quarter. Caldwell Trust Co acquired a new position in shares of Finward Bancorp in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $1,117,000. OLD National Bancorp IN acquired a new stake in Finward Bancorp during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $442,000. Finally, Los Angeles Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in Finward Bancorp during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $213,000. 26.59% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts recently issued reports on FNWD shares. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Finward Bancorp from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, August 2nd. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Finward Bancorp in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $34.00.

Finward Bancorp Stock Performance

NASDAQ:FNWD opened at $33.90 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42, a current ratio of 0.86 and a quick ratio of 0.86. The firm has a market capitalization of $146.45 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.75 and a beta of 0.34. The company’s 50-day moving average is $32.36 and its two-hundred day moving average is $30.21. Finward Bancorp has a 1-year low of $26.12 and a 1-year high of $35.66.

Finward Bancorp (NASDAQ:FNWD) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, October 28th. The company reported $0.81 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.40 by $0.41. Finward Bancorp had a net margin of 8.01% and a return on equity of 5.38%. The company had revenue of $17.36 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $17.80 million. Analysts forecast that Finward Bancorp will post 0.9 EPS for the current year.

Finward Bancorp Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 12th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 29th were issued a $0.12 dividend. This represents a $0.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.4%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 29th. Finward Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio is currently 25.13%.

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.