Finward Bancorp (NASDAQ:FNWD) Stock Price Up 1.6% – Should You Buy?

Finward Bancorp (NASDAQ:FNWD) shot up 1.6% during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The stock traded as high as $33.36 and last traded at $33.36. 4,305 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 53% from the average session volume of 9,139 shares. The stock had previously closed at $32.85.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages recently issued reports on FNWD. Stephens initiated coverage on shares of Finward Bancorp in a research report on Friday, March 27th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $41.00 target price for the company. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Finward Bancorp from a “hold (c)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a report on Thursday, May 14th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, Based on data from MarketBeat, Finward Bancorp has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $41.00.

Finward Bancorp Price Performance

The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $34.52 and its 200 day moving average price is $35.88. The company has a quick ratio of 0.87, a current ratio of 0.87 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. The stock has a market cap of $139.30 million, a PE ratio of 14.05 and a beta of 0.19.

Finward Bancorp (NASDAQ:FNWD) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 28th. The company reported $0.52 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.54 by ($0.02). The business had revenue of $17.49 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $18.45 million. Finward Bancorp had a net margin of 9.72% and a return on equity of 5.92%.

Finward Bancorp Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 31st. Investors of record on Monday, March 16th were paid a dividend of $0.12 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 16th. This represents a $0.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.5%. Finward Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio is presently 20.96%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Finward Bancorp

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. CWM LLC raised its stake in Finward Bancorp by 49.0% during the fourth quarter. CWM LLC now owns 897 shares of the company’s stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 295 shares in the last quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC raised its stake in Finward Bancorp by 0.7% during the fourth quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 49,434 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,740,000 after purchasing an additional 358 shares in the last quarter. Barclays PLC raised its stake in Finward Bancorp by 11.1% during the fourth quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 5,403 shares of the company’s stock valued at $190,000 after purchasing an additional 541 shares in the last quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. raised its stake in Finward Bancorp by 42.5% during the fourth quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 1,898 shares of the company’s stock valued at $67,000 after purchasing an additional 566 shares in the last quarter. Finally, BNP Paribas Financial Markets raised its stake in Finward Bancorp by 98.9% during the third quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 1,291 shares of the company’s stock valued at $41,000 after purchasing an additional 642 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 26.59% of the company’s stock.

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.