Norwood Financial Corp. (NASDAQ:NWFL) Short Interest Up 15.8% in April

Key Points

• Short interest rose by 15.8% in April to 119,374 shares (from 103,112), a short‑interest ratio of 5.9 days and about 1.2% of shares shorted.
• Norwood reported Q1 EPS of $0.72, missing consensus by $0.09, with revenue of $27.27 million slightly below estimates.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.32 (annualized $1.28) with a yield of about 4.4% and a payout ratio near 47.2%.

Norwood Financial Corp. (NASDAQ:NWFL - Get Free Report) saw a significant increase in short interest during the month of April. As of April 15th, there was short interest totaling 119,374 shares, an increase of 15.8% from the March 31st total of 103,112 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 20,152 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 5.9 days. Currently, 1.2% of the shares of the company are short sold.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Stephens set a $33.00 price objective on Norwood Financial and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 11th. Weiss Ratings raised Norwood Financial from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "buy (b)" rating in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised Norwood Financial from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Saturday, January 31st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $33.00.

Norwood Financial Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ NWFL opened at $29.27 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $318.75 million, a P/E ratio of 10.80 and a beta of 0.58. The company has a current ratio of 0.90, a quick ratio of 0.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25. Norwood Financial has a 1-year low of $23.70 and a 1-year high of $32.23. The business's 50 day moving average is $29.75 and its 200-day moving average is $28.82.

Norwood Financial (NASDAQ:NWFL - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Monday, April 27th. The financial services provider reported $0.72 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.81 by ($0.09). The firm had revenue of $27.27 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $27.50 million. Norwood Financial had a return on equity of 13.09% and a net margin of 17.75%. Equities research analysts predict that Norwood Financial will post 3.5 earnings per share for the current year.

Norwood Financial Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 1st. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, April 15th will be issued a $0.32 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, April 15th. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.4%. Norwood Financial's payout ratio is currently 47.23%.

Insider Activity

In other Norwood Financial news, CFO John Martin Mccaffery, Jr. acquired 1,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 30th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $29.44 per share, with a total value of $29,440.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 4,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $117,760. This represents a 33.33% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 8.10% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Norwood Financial

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of NWFL. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co increased its stake in shares of Norwood Financial by 75.3% in the 4th quarter. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co now owns 880 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 378 shares during the last quarter. Royal Bank of Canada increased its stake in shares of Norwood Financial by 8.1% in the 4th quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 6,120 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $172,000 after purchasing an additional 459 shares during the last quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc. increased its stake in shares of Norwood Financial by 130.7% in the 2nd quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc. now owns 1,061 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 601 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Norwood Financial by 0.3% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 201,621 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $5,657,000 after purchasing an additional 650 shares during the last quarter. Finally, MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. increased its stake in shares of Norwood Financial by 18.5% in the 1st quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 4,909 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $119,000 after purchasing an additional 765 shares during the last quarter. 28.08% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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. It also provides commercial loans comprising lines of credit, revolving credit, term loans, mortgages, secured lending products, and letter of credit facilities; municipal finance lending; construction loans for commercial construction projects and single-family residences; land loans; construction financing; consumer loans; mortgage lending to finance principal residences and second home dwellings; and indirect dealer financing of new and used automobiles, boats, and recreational vehicles.

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