Short Interest in Finward Bancorp (NASDAQ:FNWD) Declines By 9.4%

Finward Bancorp (NASDAQ:FNWD) was the target of a large decline in short interest during the month of March. As of March 31st, there was short interest totalling 5,800 shares, a decline of 9.4% from the March 15th total of 6,400 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 10,500 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 0.6 days. Currently, 0.2% of the shares of the stock are short sold.

Finward Bancorp Price Performance

NASDAQ:FNWD traded up $0.17 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $24.77. The stock had a trading volume of 1,078 shares, compared to its average volume of 9,870. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54, a quick ratio of 0.84 and a current ratio of 0.84. Finward Bancorp has a 52 week low of $17.29 and a 52 week high of $31.33. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $23.97 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $22.85. The stock has a market capitalization of $106.51 million, a PE ratio of 12.68 and a beta of 0.54.

Finward Bancorp (NASDAQ:FNWD) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, January 30th. The company reported $0.35 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. Finward Bancorp had a return on equity of 6.17% and a net margin of 8.68%. The business had revenue of $15.45 million for the quarter. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Finward Bancorp will post 1.2 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Finward Bancorp Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, May 6th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, April 23rd will be issued a $0.12 dividend. This represents a $0.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.94%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, April 22nd. Finward Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 24.74%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Finward Bancorp

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Finward Bancorp by 3.3% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 154,544 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,901,000 after purchasing an additional 4,962 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp boosted its holdings in Finward Bancorp by 52.2% during the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 14,420 shares of the company’s stock valued at $364,000 after acquiring an additional 4,948 shares during the period. UBS Group AG boosted its holdings in Finward Bancorp by 11.7% during the 3rd quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 4,874 shares of the company’s stock valued at $108,000 after acquiring an additional 510 shares during the period. Finally, US Bancorp DE purchased a new position in Finward Bancorp during the 4th quarter valued at $25,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 26.59% of the company’s stock.

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.