Finward Bancorp (NASDAQ:FNWD) Trading Down 1.9% – Time to Sell?

Shares of Finward Bancorp (NASDAQ:FNWD) were down 1.9% during mid-day trading on Thursday . The company traded as low as $35.96 and last traded at $36.50. Approximately 3,067 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 76% from the average daily volume of 12,529 shares. The stock had previously closed at $37.22.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Separately, Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Finward Bancorp in a research note on Monday, December 22nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $34.00.

Finward Bancorp Stock Up 0.7%

The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $36.66 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $34.36. The firm has a market cap of $159.17 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.55 and a beta of 0.33. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a current ratio of 0.86.

Finward Bancorp (NASDAQ:FNWD) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, January 27th. The company reported $0.46 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.61 by ($0.15). Finward Bancorp had a net margin of 8.00% and a return on equity of 5.15%. The company had revenue of $16.52 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $18.25 million. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Finward Bancorp will post 0.9 earnings per share for the current year.

Finward Bancorp Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 30th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, December 17th were issued a $0.12 dividend. This represents a $0.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, December 17th. Finward Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio is presently 25.53%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Finward Bancorp

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Alliancebernstein L.P. raised its stake in Finward Bancorp by 14.5% during the 3rd quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 403,704 shares of the company’s stock valued at $12,955,000 after acquiring an additional 51,038 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Finward Bancorp by 0.9% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 81,959 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,884,000 after purchasing an additional 713 shares during the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Finward Bancorp during the fourth quarter worth approximately $1,920,000. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its holdings in shares of Finward Bancorp by 8.6% during the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 54,049 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,902,000 after purchasing an additional 4,291 shares during the period. Finally, Renaissance Technologies LLC grew its position in Finward Bancorp by 0.7% in the 4th quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 49,434 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,740,000 after buying an additional 358 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 26.59% of the company’s stock.

Finward Bancorp Company Profile

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.