Finward Bancorp (NASDAQ:FNWD) Research Coverage Started at Stephens

Stephens initiated coverage on shares of Finward Bancorp (NASDAQ:FNWD) in a research note issued to investors on Friday, Marketbeat.com reports. The firm issued an overweight rating and a $41.00 price target on the stock.

Separately, Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Finward Bancorp in a research report on Monday, December 22nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $41.00.

Finward Bancorp Price Performance

FNWD stock opened at $35.26 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $37.06 and a 200-day moving average of $35.56. Finward Bancorp has a 12-month low of $26.46 and a 12-month high of $39.99. The company has a current ratio of 0.87, a quick ratio of 0.87 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26. The company has a market cap of $152.68 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.76 and a beta of 0.33.

Finward Bancorp (NASDAQ:FNWD) last released 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 return on equity of 5.01% and a net margin of 8.00%.The firm had revenue of $16.52 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $18.25 million. As a group, equities analysts expect that Finward Bancorp will post 0.9 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Finward Bancorp Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 16th will be given a $0.12 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 16th. This represents a $0.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.4%. Finward Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio is currently 25.53%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of FNWD. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. purchased a new stake in Finward Bancorp in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $1,920,000. Alliancebernstein L.P. increased its position in Finward Bancorp by 14.5% during the third 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 increased its position in Finward Bancorp by 99.7% during the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 81,669 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,256,000 after buying an additional 40,778 shares in the last quarter. Caldwell Trust Co acquired a new position in shares of Finward Bancorp in the second quarter worth $1,117,000. Finally, Trexquant Investment LP acquired a new position in shares of Finward Bancorp in the fourth quarter worth $360,000. 26.59% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.