Finward Bancorp Purchases Shares of 148,510 Finward Bancorp (NASDAQ:FNWD)

Finward Bancorp acquired a new stake in Finward Bancorp (NASDAQ:FNWD - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund acquired 148,510 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,175,000. Finward Bancorp accounts for 3.6% of Finward Bancorp's investment portfolio, making the stock its 7th biggest position. Finward Bancorp owned about 3.45% of Finward Bancorp as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake 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 period. PL Capital Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Finward Bancorp by 2,718.1% during the fourth quarter. PL Capital Advisors LLC now owns 9,999,177 shares of the company's stock worth $281,077,000 after acquiring an additional 9,644,355 shares during the period. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC purchased a new position in Finward Bancorp during the fourth quarter worth about $221,000. Finally, Alliancebernstein L.P. lifted its position in Finward Bancorp by 10.6% in the fourth 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 period. 26.59% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Finward Bancorp Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:FNWD traded up $0.36 on Friday, reaching $30.15. 15,866 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,337. The firm has a market cap of $130.40 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.65 and a beta of 0.28. The company has a current ratio of 0.86, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.53. Finward Bancorp has a 1-year low of $23.50 and a 1-year high of $33.50. The company has a 50-day moving average of $28.18 and a 200-day moving average of $29.24.

Finward Bancorp (NASDAQ:FNWD - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The company reported $0.49 earnings per share 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 forecast that Finward Bancorp will post 0.9 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Finward Bancorp Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, May 12th. Shareholders 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 yield of 1.59%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, April 28th. Finward Bancorp's payout ratio is 16.96%.

Insider Transactions at Finward Bancorp

In other news, Director Carolyn M. Burke purchased 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 3rd. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $26.80 per share, for a total transaction of $26,800.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now directly owns 1,000 shares in the company, valued at $26,800. This represents a ∞ increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Robert W. Youman bought 1,400 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 11th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $27.76 per share, for a total transaction of $38,864.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 22,773 shares of the company's stock, 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 purchased a total of 6,472 shares of company stock valued at $174,563 over the last three months. 13.70% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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

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.