Finward Bancorp (NASDAQ:FNWD) Lowered to Market Perform Rating by Hovde Group

Hovde Group cut shares of Finward Bancorp (NASDAQ:FNWD) from an outperform rating to a market perform rating in a research note published on Monday, Marketbeat.com reports.

Finward Bancorp Stock Performance

NASDAQ FNWD opened at $29.35 on Monday. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $27.09 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $29.26. The stock has a market cap of $126.62 million, a PE ratio of 10.37 and a beta of 0.53. Finward Bancorp has a fifty-two week low of $23.50 and a fifty-two week high of $33.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.53, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a current ratio of 0.86.

Finward Bancorp (NASDAQ:FNWD) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The company reported $0.49 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.18 by $0.31. Finward Bancorp had a net margin of 10.85% and a return on equity of 7.91%. On average, equities analysts expect that Finward Bancorp will post 0.9 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Finward Bancorp Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, February 3rd. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, January 21st were issued a dividend of $0.12 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, January 21st. This represents a $0.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.64%. Finward Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 16.96%.

Insider Transactions at Finward Bancorp

In other news, Director Robert W. Youman bought 1,400 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 11th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $27.76 per share, for a total transaction of $38,864.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now directly owns 22,773 shares in the company, valued at approximately $632,178.48. This represents a 6.55 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director Carolyn M. Burke acquired 1,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 3rd. The shares were bought at an average price of $26.80 per share, for a total transaction of $26,800.00. Following the acquisition, the director now directly owns 1,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $26,800. This trade represents a ∞ increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have acquired 6,472 shares of company stock worth $174,563. Company insiders own 13.70% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Finward Bancorp

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. PL Capital Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Finward Bancorp by 2,718.1% during the fourth quarter. PL Capital Advisors LLC now owns 9,999,177 shares of the company’s stock valued at $281,077,000 after purchasing an additional 9,644,355 shares during the period. Alliancebernstein L.P. increased its position in shares of Finward Bancorp by 10.6% during the fourth quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 344,926 shares of the company’s stock worth $9,696,000 after acquiring an additional 33,036 shares in the last quarter. Finward Bancorp bought a new stake in shares of Finward Bancorp during the fourth quarter worth about $4,175,000. Geode Capital Management LLC increased 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 acquiring an additional 2,825 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its position in shares of Finward Bancorp by 8.6% during the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 17,641 shares of the company’s stock worth $496,000 after acquiring an additional 1,393 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 26.59% of the company’s stock.

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.