Finward Bancorp (NASDAQ:FNWD) Short Interest Update

Finward Bancorp (NASDAQ:FNWD) saw a significant drop in short interest during the month of February. As of February 28th, there was short interest totalling 6,300 shares, a drop of 13.7% from the February 13th total of 7,300 shares. Currently, 0.2% of the shares of the company are short sold. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 3,700 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 1.7 days.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Separately, Hovde Group cut Finward Bancorp from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a report on Monday.

Finward Bancorp Price Performance

Finward Bancorp stock opened at $28.68 on Friday. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $27.15 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $29.27. Finward Bancorp has a one year low of $23.50 and a one year high of $33.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.53, a current ratio of 0.86 and a quick ratio of 0.86. The firm has a market cap of $123.73 million, a PE ratio of 10.13 and a beta of 0.53.

Finward Bancorp (NASDAQ:FNWD) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 4th. The company reported $0.49 EPS for the quarter, topping 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, research analysts expect that Finward Bancorp will post 0.9 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Carolyn M. Burke purchased 1,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 3rd. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $26.80 per share, with a total value of $26,800.00. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 1,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $26,800. This trade represents a ∞ increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Robert W. Youman purchased 1,400 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 11th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $27.76 per share, with a total value of $38,864.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now owns 22,773 shares in the company, valued at $632,178.48. The trade was a 6.55 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders acquired a total of 6,472 shares of company stock valued at $174,563 over the last three months. Insiders own 13.70% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Finward Bancorp

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Northern Trust Corp increased 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 acquiring an additional 4,098 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its stake in shares of Finward Bancorp by 8.6% in the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 17,641 shares of the company’s stock valued at $496,000 after purchasing an additional 1,393 shares during the last quarter. Finward Bancorp bought a new position in shares of Finward Bancorp in the 4th quarter valued at $4,175,000. Alliancebernstein L.P. increased its stake in shares of Finward Bancorp by 10.6% in the 4th quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 344,926 shares of the company’s stock valued at $9,696,000 after purchasing an additional 33,036 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Commonwealth Equity Services LLC bought a new position in shares of Finward Bancorp in the 4th quarter valued at $221,000. Institutional investors own 26.59% of the company’s stock.

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.