Finward Bancorp (NASDAQ:FNWD) Short Interest Update

Key Points

• Short interest surged 75.8% in August to 111,278 shares, representing 3.0% of Finward Bancorp’s outstanding shares and 6.3 days of average trading volume.
• Finward reported quarterly EPS of $0.48, missing the $0.62 analyst consensus, while revenue of $17.58 million also fell short of estimates. Analysts project full-year EPS of $2.63.
• The company maintains a quarterly dividend of $0.12, equivalent to a 1.1% yield, and analysts hold a “Moderate Buy” consensus rating with an average price target of $41.00.

Finward Bancorp (NASDAQ:FNWD - Get Free Report) was the target of a large increase in short interest during the month of August. As of August 14th, there was short interest totaling 111,278 shares, an increase of 75.8% from the July 30th total of 63,281 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 17,556 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 6.3 days. Currently, 3.0% of the shares of the company are sold short.

Institutional Trading of Finward Bancorp

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of FNWD. CWM LLC grew its stake in Finward Bancorp by 49.0% during the fourth quarter. CWM LLC now owns 897 shares of the company's stock worth $32,000 after buying an additional 295 shares in the last quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC raised its position in shares of Finward Bancorp by 0.7% in the 4th quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 49,434 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,740,000 after buying an additional 358 shares in the last quarter. Barclays PLC lifted its holdings in shares of Finward Bancorp by 11.1% during the 4th quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 5,403 shares of the company's stock worth $190,000 after acquiring an additional 541 shares during the period. Russell Investments Group Ltd. boosted its position in shares of Finward Bancorp by 42.5% during the 4th quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 1,898 shares of the company's stock worth $67,000 after acquiring an additional 566 shares in the last quarter. Finally, BNP Paribas Financial Markets boosted its position in shares of Finward Bancorp by 98.9% during the 3rd quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 1,291 shares of the company's stock worth $41,000 after acquiring an additional 642 shares in the last quarter. 26.59% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Finward Bancorp Price Performance

Shares of Finward Bancorp stock opened at $43.35 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.88, a current ratio of 0.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36. The stock has a market capitalization of $187.71 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.10 and a beta of 0.16. Finward Bancorp has a twelve month low of $30.05 and a twelve month high of $45.90. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $40.60 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $36.81.

Finward Bancorp (NASDAQ:FNWD - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, July 28th. The company reported $0.48 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.62 by ($0.14). Finward Bancorp had a return on equity of 5.68% and a net margin of 9.65%.The business had revenue of $17.58 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $18.90 million. Analysts forecast that Finward Bancorp will post 2.63 EPS for the current year.

Finward Bancorp Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 29th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, June 17th were issued a $0.12 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, June 17th. This represents a $0.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.1%. Finward Bancorp's payout ratio is currently 21.15%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on FNWD shares. Weiss Ratings upgraded Finward Bancorp from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "buy (b)" rating in a report on Wednesday, August 19th. Zacks Research upgraded Finward Bancorp to a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, July 13th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $41.00.

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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