Short Interest in Finward Bancorp (NASDAQ:FNWD) Expands By 75.8%

Finward Bancorp (NASDAQ:FNWD) saw a significant 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. Currently, 3.0% of the shares of the company are short sold. Based on an average daily volume of 17,556 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 6.3 days.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

Finward Bancorp Stock Performance

Shares of FNWD stock opened at $42.56 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $184.28 million, a PE ratio of 18.75 and a beta of 0.16. Finward Bancorp has a 52-week low of $30.05 and a 52-week high of $45.90. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $40.94 and its 200 day moving average price is $36.87. The company has a quick ratio of 0.88, a current ratio of 0.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36.

Finward Bancorp (NASDAQ:FNWD) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 28th. The company reported $0.48 earnings per share 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 company had revenue of $17.58 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $18.90 million. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Finward Bancorp will post 2.63 EPS for the current year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Finward Bancorp

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. CWM LLC raised its position in Finward Bancorp by 49.0% during the 4th quarter. CWM LLC now owns 897 shares of the company’s stock worth $32,000 after buying an additional 295 shares during the last quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets lifted its stake in shares of Finward Bancorp by 98.9% in 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 during the period. Russell Investments Group Ltd. purchased a new stake in shares of Finward Bancorp in the third quarter valued at about $43,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. purchased a new stake in shares of Finward Bancorp in the second quarter valued at about $45,000. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE increased its stake in shares of Finward Bancorp by 5,428.1% during the second quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 1,769 shares of the company’s stock worth $49,000 after acquiring an additional 1,737 shares during the period. 26.59% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.