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

Norwood Financial Corp. (NASDAQ:NWFL - Get Free Report) was the recipient of a large increase in short interest in the month of May. As of May 15th, there was short interest totalling 82,100 shares, an increase of 26.3% from the April 30th total of 65,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 23,100 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 3.6 days. Currently, 1.1% of the shares of the company are sold short.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Norwood Financial

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its position in shares of Norwood Financial by 2.1% during the 1st quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 630,867 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $15,248,000 after acquiring an additional 12,815 shares during the period. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company acquired a new stake in shares of Norwood Financial during the 4th quarter valued at about $4,840,000. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of Norwood Financial by 0.5% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 166,450 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $4,529,000 after acquiring an additional 811 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its stake in Norwood Financial by 2.9% in the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 106,786 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $2,905,000 after buying an additional 3,017 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Alliancebernstein L.P. purchased a new position in Norwood Financial in the 4th quarter valued at about $2,092,000. 28.08% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. Stephens reissued an "equal weight" rating and issued a $25.50 target price on shares of Norwood Financial in a research report on Monday, April 21st. Wall Street Zen raised Norwood Financial from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, May 10th.

Norwood Financial Stock Performance

NWFL traded up $0.46 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $25.89. 10,008 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 14,932. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $24.74 and its 200 day simple moving average is $26.09. The firm has a market capitalization of $239.74 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 2,589.00 and a beta of 0.69. The company has a current ratio of 0.91, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74. Norwood Financial has a 1-year low of $21.25 and a 1-year high of $34.50.

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

Norwood Financial Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 1st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, April 15th were given a dividend of $0.31 per share. This represents a $1.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.79%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, April 15th. 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.