Short Interest in Norwood Financial Corp. (NASDAQ:NWFL) Rises By 36.1%

Norwood Financial Corp. (NASDAQ:NWFL) saw a large increase in short interest in February. As of February 15th, there was short interest totalling 41,100 shares, an increase of 36.1% from the January 31st total of 30,200 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 14,700 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 2.8 days. Approximately 0.5% of the shares of the stock are short sold.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Ronald R. Schmalzle purchased 2,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 30th. The stock was bought at an average price of $26.00 per share, with a total value of $52,000.00. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 17,621 shares in the company, valued at $458,146. The trade was a 12.80 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In the last quarter, insiders purchased 12,255 shares of company stock valued at $319,732. 9.10% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of NWFL. Wellington Management Group LLP acquired a new stake in shares of Norwood Financial during the fourth quarter worth about $16,814,000. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company acquired a new stake in shares of Norwood Financial during the fourth quarter worth about $4,840,000. Alliancebernstein L.P. acquired a new stake in shares of Norwood Financial during the fourth quarter worth about $2,092,000. Jacobs Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Norwood Financial during the fourth quarter worth about $1,671,000. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Norwood Financial during the fourth quarter worth about $1,394,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 28.08% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages recently commented on NWFL. Piper Sandler began coverage on shares of Norwood Financial in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $28.00 price target for the company. Janney Montgomery Scott began coverage on shares of Norwood Financial in a report on Thursday, January 2nd. They issued a “buy” rating and a $31.00 price target for the company. Finally, StockNews.com lowered shares of Norwood Financial from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 25th.

Norwood Financial Price Performance

Norwood Financial stock opened at $25.65 on Tuesday. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $26.20 and a 200-day simple moving average of $27.70. Norwood Financial has a 52-week low of $23.50 and a 52-week high of $34.50. The company has a quick ratio of 0.91, a current ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74. The firm has a market capitalization of $207.56 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 2,565.00 and a beta of 0.61.

Norwood Financial (NASDAQ:NWFL) last posted its earnings results on Monday, February 3rd. The financial services provider reported $0.38 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.55 by ($0.17). Norwood Financial had a negative net margin of 0.16% and a positive return on equity of 8.38%. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Norwood Financial will post 2.51 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Norwood Financial Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, February 3rd. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, January 15th were given a $0.31 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, January 15th. This represents a $1.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.83%. This is a boost from Norwood Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.30. Norwood Financial’s dividend payout ratio is presently 12,400.00%.

About Norwood Financial

Norwood Financial Corp. operates as the bank holding company for Wayne Bank that provides various banking products and services. The company accepts a range of deposit products, including interest-bearing and non-interest-bearing transaction accounts, and statement savings and money market accounts, as well as certificate of deposits.