Finward Bancorp (NASDAQ:FNWD) Short Interest Up 15.8% in November

Finward Bancorp (NASDAQ:FNWD) was the target of a significant increase in short interest in the month of November. As of November 15th, there was short interest totalling 4,400 shares, an increase of 15.8% from the October 31st total of 3,800 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 3,200 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 1.4 days. Approximately 0.1% of the shares of the company are sold short.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Separately, Hovde Group raised Finward Bancorp from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $31.00 target price on the stock in a report on Friday, September 6th.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Finward Bancorp

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in Finward Bancorp by 7.9% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 38,662 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,237,000 after buying an additional 2,825 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP acquired a new stake in shares of Finward Bancorp in the 2nd quarter valued at about $329,000. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Finward Bancorp by 3.4% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 159,750 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,930,000 after purchasing an additional 5,206 shares during the period. 26.59% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Finward Bancorp Stock Performance

NASDAQ:FNWD traded down $0.36 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $31.02. 3,564 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 5,898. The company has a quick ratio of 0.86, a current ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.53. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $31.35 and a 200-day simple moving average of $28.12. Finward Bancorp has a 52 week low of $20.64 and a 52 week high of $33.50. The stock has a market capitalization of $133.70 million, a P/E ratio of 11.53 and a beta of 0.52.

Finward Bancorp (NASDAQ:FNWD) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The company reported $0.14 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.18 by ($0.04). The business had revenue of $14.87 million during the quarter. Finward Bancorp had a net margin of 10.44% and a return on equity of 7.60%. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Finward Bancorp will post 0.08 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Finward Bancorp Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, October 31st. Shareholders of record on Friday, October 18th were issued a $0.12 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, October 18th. This represents a $0.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.55%. Finward Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 17.84%.

Finward Bancorp Company Profile

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.