Finward Bancorp (NASDAQ:FNWD) Short Interest Up 5.7% in August

Finward Bancorp (NASDAQ:FNWD) saw a significant increase in short interest in the month of August. As of August 31st, there was short interest totalling 3,700 shares, an increase of 5.7% from the August 15th total of 3,500 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 4,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 0.9 days. Approximately 0.1% of the company’s shares are sold short.

Finward Bancorp Stock Up 5.1 %

NASDAQ:FNWD opened at $29.45 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $126.93 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.18 and a beta of 0.52. The company has a current ratio of 0.86, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $27.46 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $25.48. Finward Bancorp has a 1 year low of $17.29 and a 1 year high of $29.59.

Finward Bancorp (NASDAQ:FNWD) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 24th. The company reported $0.03 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.09) by $0.12. The business had revenue of $24.70 million during the quarter. Finward Bancorp had a return on equity of 9.26% and a net margin of 12.00%. As a group, equities analysts expect that Finward Bancorp will post 0.18 earnings per share for the current year.

Finward Bancorp Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, July 19th were issued a $0.12 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, July 19th. This represents a $0.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.63%. Finward Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 13.33%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Separately, Hovde Group raised shares of Finward Bancorp from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $31.00 price target for the company in a report on Friday, September 6th.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Global Financial Private Client LLC bought a new stake in Finward Bancorp in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Mesirow Financial Investment Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Finward Bancorp in the first quarter worth $262,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP bought a new stake in shares of Finward Bancorp in the second quarter worth $329,000. Black Maple Capital Management LP acquired a new position in Finward Bancorp during the first quarter worth $612,000. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in Finward Bancorp by 3.4% in the first 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. 26.59% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.