Finward Bancorp (NASDAQ:FNWD) Short Interest Up 9.4% in October

Finward Bancorp (NASDAQ:FNWD - Get Free Report) was the target of a large increase in short interest in October. As of October 15th, there was short interest totalling 3,500 shares, an increase of 9.4% from the September 30th total of 3,200 shares. Approximately 0.1% of the shares of the stock are short sold. Based on an average trading volume of 3,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 1.2 days.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Separately, Hovde Group upgraded Finward Bancorp from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $31.00 price target for the company in a research note on Friday, September 6th.

Finward Bancorp Price Performance

Shares of FNWD stock traded up $0.01 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $31.24. 966 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 6,174. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $29.91 and a two-hundred day moving average of $27.00. Finward Bancorp has a fifty-two week low of $18.06 and a fifty-two week high of $33.05. The firm has a market cap of $134.77 million, a P/E ratio of 10.13 and a beta of 0.53. The company has a quick ratio of 0.86, a current ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57.

Finward Bancorp (NASDAQ:FNWD - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The company reported $0.14 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.18 by ($0.04). Finward Bancorp had a net margin of 12.00% and a return on equity of 9.26%. The company had revenue of $14.87 million during the quarter. Sell-side analysts forecast that Finward Bancorp will post 0.18 EPS for the current year.

Finward Bancorp Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 31st. Investors of record on Friday, October 18th will be given a dividend of $0.12 per share. This represents a $0.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.54%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, October 18th. Finward Bancorp's payout ratio is currently 15.69%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Finward Bancorp

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Global Financial Private Client LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Finward Bancorp during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP purchased a new stake in Finward Bancorp in the second quarter valued at $329,000. Black Maple Capital Management LP acquired a new position in shares of Finward Bancorp in the 1st quarter valued at $612,000. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Finward Bancorp by 3.4% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 159,750 shares of the company's stock worth $3,930,000 after purchasing an additional 5,206 shares during the period. Finally, PL Capital Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Finward Bancorp by 257.6% in the 1st quarter. PL Capital Advisors LLC now owns 354,822 shares of the company's stock valued at $8,729,000 after buying an additional 255,595 shares during the period. 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.