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

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

Insider Activity at Finward Bancorp

In related news, Director Carolyn M. Burke purchased 1,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 3rd. The stock was acquired at an average price of $26.80 per share, for a total transaction of $26,800.00. Following the acquisition, the director now directly owns 1,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $26,800. This trade represents a ∞ increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Robert W. Youman acquired 1,400 shares of Finward Bancorp stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 11th. The stock was bought at an average price of $27.76 per share, with a total value of $38,864.00. Following the purchase, the director now directly owns 22,773 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $632,178.48. This trade represents a 6.55 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders have acquired a total of 6,472 shares of company stock worth $174,563 over the last three months. 13.70% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Finward Bancorp

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in FNWD. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Finward Bancorp in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $221,000. Northern Trust Corp lifted its stake in Finward Bancorp by 37.5% in the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 15,021 shares of the company’s stock valued at $422,000 after buying an additional 4,098 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its stake in 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 buying an additional 1,393 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in Finward Bancorp by 7.9% during 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. Finally, Finward Bancorp purchased a new position in Finward Bancorp during the fourth quarter worth $4,175,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 26.59% of the company’s stock.

Finward Bancorp Price Performance

FNWD stock traded up $0.20 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $29.30. 917 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,936. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $27.43 and its 200-day moving average price is $29.37. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.53, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a current ratio of 0.86. The stock has a market cap of $126.40 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.35 and a beta of 0.53. Finward Bancorp has a fifty-two week low of $23.50 and a fifty-two week high of $33.50.

Finward Bancorp (NASDAQ:FNWD) last announced 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%. Research analysts predict that Finward Bancorp will post 0.9 earnings per share for the current year.

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.