Finward Bancorp (NASDAQ:FNWD) Short Interest Down 29.5% in October

Finward Bancorp (NASDAQ:FNWD) was the target of a significant decrease in short interest in the month of 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 daily trading volume, of 39,500 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 2.3 days. Approximately 2.7% of the company’s shares are short sold. Approximately 2.7% of the company’s shares are short sold. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 39,500 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 2.3 days.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have issued reports on FNWD shares. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Finward Bancorp in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Finward Bancorp from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, August 2nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Finward Bancorp currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $34.00.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Finward Bancorp

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in FNWD. PL Capital Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Finward Bancorp by 11.2% during the first quarter. PL Capital Advisors LLC now owns 395,716 shares of the company’s stock valued at $11,515,000 after purchasing an additional 40,000 shares in the last quarter. OLD National Bancorp IN bought a new position in shares of Finward Bancorp during the second quarter valued at approximately $442,000. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Finward Bancorp during the second quarter valued at approximately $213,000. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Finward Bancorp by 99.7% during the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 81,669 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,256,000 after purchasing an additional 40,778 shares in the last quarter. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. bought a new position in shares of Finward Bancorp during the second quarter valued at approximately $45,000. Institutional investors own 26.59% of the company’s stock.

Finward Bancorp Trading Down 2.1%

Shares of Finward Bancorp stock traded down $0.73 during trading on Monday, reaching $34.42. 5,550 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 20,457. The company has a quick ratio of 0.86, a current ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $32.24 and its 200 day moving average is $30.15. The firm has a market cap of $148.87 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.02 and a beta of 0.31. Finward Bancorp has a 1 year low of $26.12 and a 1 year high of $35.66.

Finward Bancorp (NASDAQ:FNWD) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 28th. The company reported $0.81 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $17.80 million. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Finward Bancorp will post 0.9 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Finward Bancorp Announces Dividend

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

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.