Fourthstone LLC Sells 11,955 Shares of Finward Bancorp (NASDAQ:FNWD)

Fourthstone LLC cut its holdings in shares of Finward Bancorp (NASDAQ:FNWD - Free Report) by 8.7% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 125,565 shares of the company's stock after selling 11,955 shares during the quarter. Finward Bancorp comprises 0.7% of Fourthstone LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 26th largest holding. Fourthstone LLC owned approximately 2.91% of Finward Bancorp worth $3,530,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. PL Capital Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Finward Bancorp by 2,718.1% in the 4th quarter. PL Capital Advisors LLC now owns 9,999,177 shares of the company's stock valued at $281,077,000 after purchasing an additional 9,644,355 shares during the period. Finward Bancorp bought a new stake in shares of Finward Bancorp in the fourth quarter valued at about $4,175,000. Alliancebernstein L.P. raised its stake 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 in the last quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC acquired a new stake in Finward Bancorp in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $221,000. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Finward Bancorp by 7.9% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 38,662 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,237,000 after acquiring an additional 2,825 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 26.59% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Separately, Hovde Group cut shares of Finward Bancorp from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating in a research report on Monday, March 17th.

Insider Buying and Selling at Finward Bancorp

In other news, 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 completion of the transaction, the director now owns 22,773 shares in the company, valued at $632,178.48. The trade was a 6.55 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, Director Carolyn M. Burke purchased 1,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 3rd. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $26.80 per share, with a total value of $26,800.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 1,000 shares in the company, valued at $26,800. This trade represents a ∞ increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders have purchased 6,472 shares of company stock valued at $174,563 over the last 90 days. 13.70% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Finward Bancorp Stock Up 0.4 %

Shares of NASDAQ FNWD traded up $0.13 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $30.32. 2,162 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 4,336. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.53, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a current ratio of 0.86. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $28.34 and a 200-day moving average price of $29.18. Finward Bancorp has a 52 week low of $23.50 and a 52 week high of $33.50. The company has a market cap of $131.13 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.71 and a beta of 0.28.

Finward Bancorp (NASDAQ:FNWD - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly 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%. Research analysts anticipate that Finward Bancorp will post 0.9 EPS for the current year.

Finward Bancorp Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, May 12th. Investors of record on Monday, April 28th will be given a dividend of $0.12 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, April 28th. This represents a $0.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.58%. Finward Bancorp's payout ratio is presently 16.96%.

Finward Bancorp 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.