Short Interest in Finward Bancorp (NASDAQ:FNWD) Increases By 36.3%

Finward Bancorp (NASDAQ:FNWD) saw a large increase in short interest in the month of December. As of December 31st, there was short interest totaling 144,240 shares, an increase of 36.3% from the December 15th total of 105,863 shares. Approximately 3.5% of the shares of the company are short sold. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 15,088 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 9.6 days. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 15,088 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 9.6 days. Approximately 3.5% of the shares of the company are short sold.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Finward Bancorp

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. BNP Paribas Financial Markets lifted its position in Finward Bancorp by 98.9% during the 3rd quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 1,291 shares of the company’s stock worth $41,000 after buying an additional 642 shares in the last quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. acquired a new stake in shares of Finward Bancorp in the third quarter valued at approximately $43,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. bought a new position in Finward Bancorp in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $45,000. Bank of America Corp DE lifted its holdings in Finward Bancorp by 5,428.1% during 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. Finally, MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. bought a new position in Finward Bancorp in the 2nd quarter valued at $52,000. Institutional investors own 26.59% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Separately, Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Finward Bancorp in a research note on Monday, December 22nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $34.00.

Finward Bancorp Stock Performance

FNWD traded up $0.25 during trading on Friday, reaching $35.91. 44,383 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 14,392. The company has a market capitalization of $155.49 million, a P/E ratio of 18.80 and a beta of 0.31. The company has a quick ratio of 0.86, a current ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $36.62 and a 200 day moving average price of $32.70. Finward Bancorp has a fifty-two week low of $26.12 and a fifty-two week high of $39.99.

Finward Bancorp (NASDAQ:FNWD) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 28th. The company reported $0.81 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.40 by $0.41. The firm had revenue of $15.11 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $17.80 million. Finward Bancorp had a net margin of 8.01% and a return on equity of 5.27%. As a group, analysts predict that Finward Bancorp will post 0.9 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Finward Bancorp Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 30th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, December 17th were paid a dividend of $0.12 per share. This represents a $0.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, December 17th. Finward Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio is currently 25.13%.

Finward Bancorp Company 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.