Alliancebernstein L.P. Increases Position in Finward Bancorp (NASDAQ:FNWD)

Alliancebernstein L.P. lifted its holdings in Finward Bancorp (NASDAQ:FNWD - Free Report) by 10.6% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 344,926 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 33,036 shares during the period. Alliancebernstein L.P. owned about 8.00% of Finward Bancorp worth $9,696,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in FNWD. PL Capital Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Finward Bancorp by 2,718.1% during the 4th quarter. PL Capital Advisors LLC now owns 9,999,177 shares of the company's stock valued at $281,077,000 after buying an additional 9,644,355 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 2,825 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Commonwealth Equity Services LLC bought a new stake in Finward Bancorp during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $221,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 26.59% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Finward Bancorp news, Director Carolyn M. Burke bought 1,000 shares of Finward Bancorp stock in a transaction on Monday, February 3rd. The shares were acquired at an average price of $26.80 per share, for a total transaction of $26,800.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly 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 filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, Director Robert W. Youman acquired 1,400 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 11th. The shares were bought at an average price of $27.76 per share, with a total value of $38,864.00. Following the acquisition, the director now directly owns 22,773 shares in the company, valued at $632,178.48. This represents a 6.55 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders purchased 6,472 shares of company stock worth $174,563. Corporate insiders own 13.70% of the company's stock.

Finward Bancorp Price Performance

Shares of FNWD traded up $0.17 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $29.85. 916 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 4,219. Finward Bancorp has a 52 week low of $23.50 and a 52 week high of $33.50. 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 firm has a 50 day moving average of $28.04 and a 200-day moving average of $29.24. The stock has a market cap of $129.08 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.55 and a beta of 0.28.

Finward Bancorp (NASDAQ:FNWD - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 4th. The company reported $0.49 earnings per share (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%. On average, analysts forecast that Finward Bancorp will post 0.9 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Finward Bancorp Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, May 12th. Stockholders of record on Monday, April 28th will be given a dividend of $0.12 per share. This represents a $0.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.61%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, April 28th. Finward Bancorp's dividend payout ratio is 16.96%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

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

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.