Finward Bancorp (NASDAQ:FNWD) Sees Large Decline in Short Interest

Finward Bancorp (NASDAQ:FNWD) was the recipient of a significant drop in short interest in the month of March. As of March 15th, there was short interest totalling 4,600 shares, a drop of 27.0% from the February 28th total of 6,300 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 4,200 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 1.1 days. Currently, 0.1% of the company’s stock are short sold.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Separately, Hovde Group downgraded shares of Finward Bancorp from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research note on Monday, March 17th.

Finward Bancorp Stock Down 0.3 %

Shares of FNWD traded down $0.10 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $29.10. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 1,539 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,947. The company’s 50 day moving average is $27.39 and its 200 day moving average is $29.36. The stock has a market cap of $125.54 million, a PE ratio of 10.28 and a beta of 0.53. Finward Bancorp has a 12-month low of $23.50 and a 12-month 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.

Finward Bancorp (NASDAQ:FNWD) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The company reported $0.49 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.18 by $0.31. Finward Bancorp had a net margin of 10.85% and a return on equity of 7.91%. Equities analysts anticipate that Finward Bancorp will post 0.9 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Finward Bancorp

In related news, Director Robert W. Youman acquired 1,400 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 11th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $27.76 per share, for a total transaction of $38,864.00. Following the purchase, the director now owns 22,773 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $632,178.48. This represents a 6.55 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Carolyn M. Burke bought 1,000 shares of Finward Bancorp stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 3rd. The stock was purchased 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. This represents a ∞ increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders purchased 6,472 shares of company stock worth $174,563. Company insiders own 13.70% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Finward Bancorp

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of FNWD. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in Finward Bancorp by 7.9% during the third 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 period. PL Capital Advisors LLC raised its position in Finward Bancorp by 2,718.1% in the 4th quarter. PL Capital Advisors LLC now owns 9,999,177 shares of the company’s stock valued at $281,077,000 after purchasing an additional 9,644,355 shares during the last quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC acquired a new stake in Finward Bancorp during the 4th quarter worth $221,000. Alliancebernstein L.P. boosted its stake in Finward Bancorp by 10.6% during the 4th quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 344,926 shares of the company’s stock worth $9,696,000 after purchasing an additional 33,036 shares during the period. Finally, Finward Bancorp acquired a new position in Finward Bancorp in the fourth quarter valued at $4,175,000. 26.59% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.