Finward Bancorp (NASDAQ:FNWD) Stock Price Up 0.3% - What's Next?

Key Points

• Finward Bancorp reported quarterly EPS of $0.46 (vs. $0.61 expected) and revenue of $16.52M (vs. $18.25M expected), marking a notable earnings and revenue miss for the period.
• Stephens initiated coverage with a Overweight rating and a $41 price target; the stock's consensus from analysts is a Moderate Buy with an average target of $41.
• Shares traded up 0.3% to $34.78 on light volume (~5,320 shares); the company has a $150.6M market cap, a PE of 18.5, and pays a $0.12 quarterly dividend (≈1.4% yield).

Finward Bancorp (NASDAQ:FNWD - Get Free Report) shares traded up 0.3% on Friday . The stock traded as high as $35.59 and last traded at $34.78. 5,320 shares were traded during mid-day trading, an increase of 1% from the average session volume of 5,267 shares. The stock had previously closed at $34.66.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

FNWD has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Stephens began coverage on Finward Bancorp in a research note on Friday, March 27th. They set an "overweight" rating and a $41.00 price target on the stock. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "hold (c)" rating on shares of Finward Bancorp in a research report on Monday, December 22nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $41.00.

Finward Bancorp Trading Up 0.3%

The business's fifty day moving average is $36.48 and its 200-day moving average is $35.83. The stock has a market capitalization of $150.60 million, a PE ratio of 18.50 and a beta of 0.32. The company has a quick ratio of 0.87, a current ratio of 0.87 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26.

Finward Bancorp (NASDAQ:FNWD - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, January 27th. The company reported $0.46 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.61 by ($0.15). The company had revenue of $16.52 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $18.25 million. Finward Bancorp had a return on equity of 5.01% and a net margin of 8.00%. As a group, analysts anticipate that Finward Bancorp will post 0.9 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Finward Bancorp Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 31st. Investors of record on Monday, March 16th were given a $0.12 dividend. This represents a $0.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 16th. Finward Bancorp's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 25.53%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Finward Bancorp

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Finward Bancorp by 99.7% during the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 81,669 shares of the company's stock worth $2,256,000 after acquiring an additional 40,778 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. acquired a new position in shares of Finward Bancorp in the 2nd quarter valued at about $45,000. New York State Common Retirement Fund acquired a new position in shares of Finward Bancorp in the 2nd quarter valued at about $102,000. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. purchased a new stake in shares of Finward Bancorp during the 2nd quarter worth about $52,000. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE grew its holdings in shares of Finward Bancorp by 5,428.1% during the 2nd quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 1,769 shares of the company's stock worth $49,000 after purchasing an additional 1,737 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 26.59% of the company's stock.

About Finward Bancorp

Finward Bancorp NASDAQ: FNWD is the bank holding company for Finward Bank, a community-focused financial institution serving businesses and individuals across Pennsylvania and Delaware. Through a network of full-service branches and a robust digital banking platform, Finward Bank delivers a range of personal and commercial banking solutions designed to meet the needs of local customers.

The company's core offerings include deposit products such as checking accounts, savings accounts and time deposits, as well as a variety of lending solutions.

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