Short Interest in Finward Bancorp (NASDAQ:FNWD) Rises By 47.7%

Finward Bancorp (NASDAQ:FNWD) was the target of a large growth in short interest during the month of January. As of January 31st, there was short interest totalling 6,500 shares, a growth of 47.7% from the January 15th total of 4,400 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 3,800 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 1.7 days. Currently, 0.2% of the shares of the company are sold short.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Carolyn M. Burke purchased 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 3rd. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $26.80 per share, for a total transaction of $26,800.00. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 1,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $26,800. The trade was a ∞ increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In the last ninety days, insiders bought 2,733 shares of company stock worth $76,140. 13.70% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in FNWD. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC bought a new position in Finward Bancorp during the 4th quarter worth $221,000. Northern Trust Corp grew its stake in Finward Bancorp by 37.5% during the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 15,021 shares of the company’s stock worth $422,000 after buying an additional 4,098 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its stake in Finward Bancorp by 8.6% during the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 17,641 shares of the company’s stock worth $496,000 after buying an additional 1,393 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in Finward Bancorp by 7.9% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 38,662 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,237,000 after buying an additional 2,825 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Finward Bancorp bought a new position in Finward Bancorp during the 4th quarter worth $4,175,000. 26.59% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Finward Bancorp Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ FNWD opened at $26.73 on Friday. Finward Bancorp has a twelve month low of $22.82 and a twelve month high of $33.50. The company has a current ratio of 0.86, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.53. The company has a market capitalization of $115.29 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.44 and a beta of 0.54. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $28.05 and a 200-day simple moving average of $29.27.

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

Finward Bancorp Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, February 3rd. Investors of record on Tuesday, January 21st were paid 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 yield of 1.80%. Finward Bancorp’s payout ratio is currently 16.96%.

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.