Norwood Financial Corp. (NASDAQ:NWFL) Sees Large Increase in Short Interest

Norwood Financial Corp. (NASDAQ:NWFL - Get Free Report) was the target of a large growth in short interest in the month of March. As of March 31st, there was short interest totalling 67,400 shares, a growth of 37.3% from the March 15th total of 49,100 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 16,500 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 4.1 days. Approximately 0.9% of the shares of the company are short sold.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms recently issued reports on NWFL. Piper Sandler started coverage on Norwood Financial in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. They set a "neutral" rating and a $28.00 price objective on the stock. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Norwood Financial from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday. Janney Montgomery Scott started coverage on shares of Norwood Financial in a research note on Thursday, January 2nd. They set a "buy" rating and a $31.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Stephens raised shares of Norwood Financial to a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, April 14th.

Insider Activity at Norwood Financial

In other Norwood Financial news, Director Ronald R. Schmalzle acquired 2,000 shares of Norwood Financial stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 30th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $26.00 per share, for a total transaction of $52,000.00. Following the purchase, the director now owns 17,621 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $458,146. This represents a 12.80 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 9.10% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Norwood Financial

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Wellington Management Group LLP purchased a new position in shares of Norwood Financial during the fourth quarter worth approximately $16,814,000. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company purchased a new position in Norwood Financial in the 4th quarter worth $4,840,000. Alliancebernstein L.P. bought a new stake in Norwood Financial in the fourth quarter worth $2,092,000. Jacobs Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in Norwood Financial in the fourth quarter worth $1,671,000. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in Norwood Financial during the fourth quarter valued at about $1,394,000. Institutional investors own 28.08% of the company's stock.

Norwood Financial Price Performance

NWFL traded up $0.56 on Friday, reaching $23.01. The company had a trading volume of 98,299 shares, compared to its average volume of 13,416. Norwood Financial has a 52-week low of $21.25 and a 52-week high of $34.50. The company has a market cap of $213.14 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 2,301.00 and a beta of 0.54. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a current ratio of 0.91. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $24.38 and a 200 day simple moving average of $26.91.

Norwood Financial (NASDAQ:NWFL - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 17th. The financial services provider reported $0.63 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.59 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $20.20 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $20.60 million. Norwood Financial had a negative net margin of 0.16% and a positive return on equity of 8.38%. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Norwood Financial will post 2.51 EPS for the current year.

Norwood Financial Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 1st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, April 15th will be given a dividend of $0.31 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, April 15th. This represents a $1.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.39%. Norwood Financial's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 1,377.78%.

Norwood Financial Company Profile

Norwood Financial Corp. operates as the bank holding company for Wayne Bank that provides various banking products and services. The company accepts a range of deposit products, including interest-bearing and non-interest-bearing transaction accounts, and statement savings and money market accounts, as well as certificate of deposits.

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