Raffles Associates LP Invests $978,000 in Finward Bancorp $FNWD

Raffles Associates LP acquired a new stake in Finward Bancorp (NASDAQ:FNWD) in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm acquired 26,580 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $978,000. Finward Bancorp makes up about 0.8% of Raffles Associates LP’s portfolio, making the stock its 26th largest position. Raffles Associates LP owned approximately 0.61% of Finward Bancorp at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. CWM LLC lifted its position in Finward Bancorp by 49.0% in the fourth quarter. CWM LLC now owns 897 shares of the company’s stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 295 shares during the period. BNP Paribas Financial Markets increased its position in shares of Finward Bancorp by 98.9% during the 3rd 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 during the period. Russell Investments Group Ltd. acquired a new position in shares of Finward Bancorp during the 3rd quarter valued at $43,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. bought a new stake in shares of Finward Bancorp in the 2nd quarter worth $45,000. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE raised its stake in shares of Finward Bancorp by 5,428.1% in the 2nd quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 1,769 shares of the company’s stock worth $49,000 after buying an additional 1,737 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 26.59% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages recently weighed in on FNWD. Zacks Research raised Finward Bancorp to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, July 13th. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Finward Bancorp from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 19th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $41.00.

Finward Bancorp Price Performance

FNWD stock opened at $43.03 on Friday. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $40.41 and a two-hundred day moving average of $36.77. The firm has a market capitalization of $186.32 million, a PE ratio of 18.96 and a beta of 0.16. The company has a current ratio of 0.88, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36. Finward Bancorp has a one year low of $30.05 and a one year high of $45.90.

Finward Bancorp (NASDAQ:FNWD) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 28th. The company reported $0.48 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.62 by ($0.14). Finward Bancorp had a net margin of 9.65% and a return on equity of 5.68%. The firm had revenue of $17.58 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $18.90 million. On average, analysts forecast that Finward Bancorp will post 2.63 earnings per share for the current year.

Finward Bancorp Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 29th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, June 17th were given a $0.12 dividend. This represents a $0.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, June 17th. Finward Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 21.15%.

Finward Bancorp Profile

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.