Short Interest in Finward Bancorp (NASDAQ:FNWD) Expands By 49.0%

Key Points

• Short interest in Finward Bancorp has increased by 49.0%, totaling 114,000 shares as of July 31st, representing 3.1% of the company's shares short sold.
• The company reported earnings of $0.50 per share, exceeding the consensus estimate by $0.26, with a revenue of $16.63 million for the quarter.
• Finward Bancorp announced a quarterly dividend of $0.12 per share, with a dividend yield of 1.6%, to be paid on September 12th.

Finward Bancorp (NASDAQ:FNWD - Get Free Report) saw a significant growth in short interest in July. As of July 31st, there was short interest totaling 114,000 shares, agrowthof49.0% from the July 15th total of 76,500 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 33,100 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 3.4 days. Currently,3.1% of the shares of the company are short sold. Currently,3.1% of the shares of the company are short sold. Based on an average trading volume of 33,100 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 3.4 days.

Finward Bancorp Price Performance

Shares of FNWD opened at $29.43 on Tuesday. Finward Bancorp has a fifty-two week low of $26.12 and a fifty-two week high of $33.50. The company has a market capitalization of $127.14 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.73 and a beta of 0.27. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $28.10 and a 200-day simple moving average of $28.60. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a current ratio of 0.86.

Finward Bancorp (NASDAQ:FNWD - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, July 29th. The company reported $0.50 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.24 by $0.26. Finward Bancorp had a net margin of 5.23% and a return on equity of 3.45%. The business had revenue of $16.63 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $16.85 million. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Finward Bancorp will post 0.9 earnings per share for the current year.

Finward Bancorp Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 12th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 29th will be paid a dividend of $0.12 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 29th. This represents a $0.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.6%. Finward Bancorp's dividend payout ratio is 38.71%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Finward Bancorp

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Northern Trust Corp lifted its position in Finward Bancorp by 37.5% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 15,021 shares of the company's stock valued at $422,000 after purchasing an additional 4,098 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its position in Finward Bancorp by 8.6% in the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 17,641 shares of the company's stock valued at $496,000 after purchasing an additional 1,393 shares during the period. PL Capital Advisors LLC lifted its position in Finward Bancorp by 11.2% in the first quarter. PL Capital Advisors LLC now owns 395,716 shares of the company's stock valued at $11,515,000 after purchasing an additional 40,000 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in Finward Bancorp by 99.7% in the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 81,669 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,256,000 after purchasing an additional 40,778 shares during the period. Finally, New York State Common Retirement Fund acquired a new stake in Finward Bancorp in the second quarter valued at about $102,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 26.59% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have issued reports on FNWD shares. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Finward Bancorp from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, August 2nd. Stephens increased their target price on shares of Finward Bancorp from $32.00 to $34.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, May 2nd.

About Finward Bancorp

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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.