Finward Bancorp (NASDAQ:FNWD) Posts Earnings Results, Misses Expectations By $0.15 EPS

Finward Bancorp (NASDAQ:FNWD) posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday. The company reported $0.46 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.61 by ($0.15), FiscalAI reports. The firm had revenue of $16.52 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $18.25 million. Finward Bancorp had a net margin of 8.01% and a return on equity of 5.27%.

Finward Bancorp Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ FNWD traded up $0.18 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $36.66. 4,892 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 18,777. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $36.86 and a 200 day moving average price of $33.13. The company has a market cap of $158.72 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.19 and a beta of 0.31. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a current ratio of 0.86 and a quick ratio of 0.86. Finward Bancorp has a 52 week low of $26.12 and a 52 week high of $39.99.

Finward Bancorp Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 30th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, December 17th were issued a dividend of $0.12 per share. This represents a $0.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, December 17th. Finward Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 25.13%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in FNWD. Alliancebernstein L.P. boosted its position in shares of Finward Bancorp by 14.5% in the 3rd quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 403,704 shares of the company’s stock valued at $12,955,000 after purchasing an additional 51,038 shares during the period. BNP Paribas Financial Markets lifted 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 buying an additional 642 shares in the last quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. purchased a new stake in Finward Bancorp during the third quarter valued at about $43,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its holdings in shares of Finward Bancorp by 63.6% in the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 2,663 shares of the company’s stock worth $85,000 after buying an additional 1,035 shares during the period. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE increased its position in shares of Finward Bancorp by 5,428.1% in the second quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 1,769 shares of the company’s stock worth $49,000 after acquiring 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

Separately, Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Finward Bancorp in a report on Monday, December 22nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Finward Bancorp has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $34.00.

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.