Finward Bancorp (NASDAQ:FNWD) Short Interest Down 27.0% in March

Finward Bancorp (NASDAQ:FNWD) was the recipient of a significant decline in short interest during the month of March. As of March 15th, there was short interest totalling 4,600 shares, a decline of 27.0% from the February 28th total of 6,300 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 4,200 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 1.1 days. Currently, 0.1% of the company’s stock are short sold.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Robert W. Youman bought 1,400 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 11th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $27.76 per share, for a total transaction of $38,864.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 22,773 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $632,178.48. This trade represents a 6.55 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Carolyn M. Burke bought 1,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 3rd. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $26.80 per share, with a total value of $26,800.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 1,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $26,800. This trade represents a ∞ increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders acquired a total of 6,472 shares of company stock worth $174,563 over the last 90 days. 13.70% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC purchased a new position in Finward Bancorp in the 4th quarter valued at $221,000. Northern Trust Corp lifted its stake in shares of Finward Bancorp by 37.5% in the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 15,021 shares of the company’s stock worth $422,000 after acquiring an additional 4,098 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its holdings in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 1,393 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Finward Bancorp by 7.9% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 38,662 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,237,000 after acquiring an additional 2,825 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Finward Bancorp acquired a new position in shares of Finward Bancorp during the fourth quarter worth about $4,175,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 26.59% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Separately, Hovde Group cut shares of Finward Bancorp from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a report on Monday, March 17th.

Finward Bancorp Stock Performance

NASDAQ FNWD traded up $0.20 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $29.30. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 917 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,936. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $27.43 and its 200-day moving average price is $29.37. Finward Bancorp has a twelve month low of $23.50 and a twelve month high of $33.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.53, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a current ratio of 0.86. The firm has a market cap of $126.40 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.35 and a beta of 0.53.

Finward Bancorp (NASDAQ:FNWD) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The company reported $0.49 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.18 by $0.31. Finward Bancorp had a return on equity of 7.91% and a net margin of 10.85%. As a group, analysts anticipate that Finward Bancorp will post 0.9 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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.