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

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

Finward Bancorp Stock Up 0.7 %

NASDAQ FNWD traded up $0.17 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $24.77. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 1,078 shares, compared to its average volume of 9,870. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $23.97 and its 200 day simple moving average is $22.85. Finward Bancorp has a twelve month low of $17.29 and a twelve month high of $31.33. The company has a current ratio of 0.84, a quick ratio of 0.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54. The firm has a market capitalization of $106.51 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.68 and a beta of 0.54.

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

Finward Bancorp Announces Dividend

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

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Finward Bancorp

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of FNWD. 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 buying an additional 4,962 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp boosted its holdings in shares of Finward Bancorp by 52.2% in the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 14,420 shares of the company’s stock worth $364,000 after buying an additional 4,948 shares during the last quarter. US Bancorp DE purchased a new position in shares of Finward Bancorp in the 4th quarter worth about $25,000. Finally, UBS Group AG boosted its holdings in shares of Finward Bancorp by 11.7% in the 3rd quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 4,874 shares of the company’s stock worth $108,000 after buying an additional 510 shares during the last quarter. 26.59% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.