Finward Bancorp (NASDAQ:FNWD) Short Interest Update

Finward Bancorp (NASDAQ:FNWD - Get Free Report) was the target of a large increase in short interest during the month of January. As of January 31st, there was short interest totalling 6,500 shares, an increase of 47.7% from the January 15th total of 4,400 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 3,800 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 1.7 days. Approximately 0.2% of the company's shares are short sold.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Carolyn M. Burke bought 1,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 3rd. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $26.80 per share, with a total value of $26,800.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 1,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $26,800. This trade represents a ∞ increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Insiders have bought a total of 2,733 shares of company stock valued at $76,140 in the last quarter. Insiders own 13.70% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of FNWD. PL Capital Advisors LLC lifted its position in 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 acquiring an additional 9,644,355 shares during the period. Finward Bancorp purchased a new position in Finward Bancorp during the 4th quarter valued at about $4,175,000. Alliancebernstein L.P. lifted its position in Finward Bancorp by 10.6% during the 4th quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 344,926 shares of the company's stock valued at $9,696,000 after acquiring an additional 33,036 shares during the period. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC purchased a new position in Finward Bancorp during the 4th quarter valued at about $221,000. Finally, Northern Trust Corp lifted its position in Finward Bancorp by 37.5% during the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 15,021 shares of the company's stock valued at $422,000 after acquiring an additional 4,098 shares during the period. 26.59% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Finward Bancorp Trading Up 1.3 %

Shares of NASDAQ:FNWD traded up $0.35 on Monday, hitting $26.73. The company had a trading volume of 829 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,297. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $27.97 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $29.26. Finward Bancorp has a 1 year low of $22.82 and a 1 year high of $33.50. The company has a quick ratio of 0.86, a current ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.53. The firm has a market capitalization of $115.18 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.44 and a beta of 0.54.

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

Finward Bancorp Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, February 3rd. Investors of record on Tuesday, January 21st were given a dividend of $0.12 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, January 21st. This represents a $0.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.80%. Finward Bancorp's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 16.96%.

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.