Finward Bancorp (NASDAQ:FNWD) Releases Earnings Results, Misses Expectations By $0.14 EPS

Finward Bancorp (NASDAQ:FNWD) announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday. The company reported $0.48 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.62 by ($0.14), Zacks reports. Finward Bancorp had a net margin of 9.65% and a return on equity of 5.75%. The company had revenue of $17.58 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $18.90 million.

Finward Bancorp Stock Up 1.0%

FNWD stock traded up $0.46 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $44.70. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 975 shares, compared to its average volume of 15,316. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $35.68 and its 200-day moving average is $35.62. The company has a current ratio of 0.87, a quick ratio of 0.87 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. Finward Bancorp has a 12 month low of $27.12 and a 12 month high of $45.00. The company has a market cap of $193.53 million, a PE ratio of 19.69 and a beta of 0.18.

Finward Bancorp Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 29th. Investors of record on Wednesday, June 17th were given a $0.12 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, June 17th. This represents a $0.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.1%. Finward Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio is 20.96%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have commented on the stock. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Finward Bancorp from a “hold (c)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a report on Friday, June 26th. Zacks Research upgraded Finward Bancorp to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, July 13th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $41.00.

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.