Hovde Group Downgrades Finward Bancorp (NASDAQ:FNWD) to Market Perform

Hovde Group cut shares of Finward Bancorp (NASDAQ:FNWD) from an outperform rating to a market perform rating in a research report released on Monday, Marketbeat.com reports.

Finward Bancorp Trading Down 0.3 %

Shares of FNWD stock opened at $29.35 on Monday. Finward Bancorp has a 52-week low of $23.50 and a 52-week 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 company has a 50-day simple moving average of $27.09 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $29.26. The company has a market capitalization of $126.62 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.37 and a beta of 0.53.

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

Finward Bancorp Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, February 3rd. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, January 21st were paid a $0.12 dividend. This represents a $0.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.64%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, January 21st. Finward Bancorp’s payout ratio is 16.96%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Finward Bancorp

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

Institutional Trading of Finward Bancorp

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of FNWD. Northern Trust Corp lifted its stake in 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 purchasing an additional 4,098 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its stake in Finward Bancorp by 8.6% in the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 17,641 shares of the company’s stock worth $496,000 after purchasing an additional 1,393 shares in the last quarter. Finward Bancorp purchased a new stake in Finward Bancorp in the 4th quarter worth approximately $4,175,000. Alliancebernstein L.P. lifted its stake in Finward Bancorp by 10.6% in the 4th quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 344,926 shares of the company’s stock worth $9,696,000 after purchasing an additional 33,036 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Commonwealth Equity Services LLC purchased a new stake in Finward Bancorp in the 4th quarter worth approximately $221,000. 26.59% of the stock is currently 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.