Finward Bancorp Announces Quarterly Dividend of $0.12 (NASDAQ:FNWD)

Finward Bancorp (NASDAQ:FNWD) declared a quarterly dividend on Friday, March 22nd, Zacks reports. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, April 23rd will be paid a dividend of 0.12 per share on Monday, May 6th. This represents a $0.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.94%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, April 22nd.

Finward Bancorp has decreased its dividend by an average of 5.4% annually over the last three years. Finward Bancorp has a payout ratio of 32.0% meaning its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Research analysts expect Finward Bancorp to earn $1.40 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $0.48 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 34.3%.

Finward Bancorp Price Performance

FNWD stock opened at $24.70 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $24.02 and a 200-day moving average of $22.91. The company has a market cap of $106.21 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.73 and a beta of 0.54. The company has a current ratio of 0.84, a quick ratio of 0.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54. Finward Bancorp has a 12-month low of $17.29 and a 12-month high of $30.23.

Finward Bancorp (NASDAQ:FNWD) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, January 30th. The company reported $0.35 EPS for the quarter. Finward Bancorp had a return on equity of 6.17% and a net margin of 8.68%. The company had revenue of $15.45 million for the quarter. As a group, equities analysts expect that Finward Bancorp will post 1.2 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Finward Bancorp

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. US Bancorp DE purchased a new stake in shares of Finward Bancorp in the fourth quarter valued at about $25,000. UBS Group AG raised its position in shares of Finward Bancorp by 11.7% during the 3rd quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 4,874 shares of the company’s stock worth $108,000 after purchasing an additional 510 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp raised its position in shares of Finward Bancorp by 52.2% during the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 14,420 shares of the company’s stock worth $364,000 after purchasing an additional 4,948 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in Finward Bancorp by 0.6% in the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 149,582 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,310,000 after buying an additional 933 shares in the last quarter. 26.59% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.