Bulldog Investors LLP Grows Stock Holdings in Norwood Financial Corp. $NWFL

Bulldog Investors LLP grew its position in shares of Norwood Financial Corp. (NASDAQ:NWFL) by 165.0% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 170,000 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 105,855 shares during the period. Norwood Financial comprises 1.1% of Bulldog Investors LLP’s portfolio, making the stock its 25th largest position. Bulldog Investors LLP owned 1.56% of Norwood Financial worth $5,001,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co increased its holdings in Norwood Financial by 75.3% during the 4th quarter. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co now owns 880 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 378 shares during the period. Royal Bank of Canada lifted its holdings in Norwood Financial by 8.1% in the 4th quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 6,120 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $172,000 after buying an additional 459 shares during the period. Osaic Holdings Inc. lifted its holdings in Norwood Financial by 130.7% in the 2nd quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc. now owns 1,061 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $27,000 after buying an additional 601 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of Norwood Financial by 0.3% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 201,621 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $5,657,000 after buying an additional 650 shares during the last quarter. Finally, MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. grew its position in shares of Norwood Financial by 18.5% in the 1st quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 4,909 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $119,000 after buying an additional 765 shares during the last quarter. 28.08% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages recently commented on NWFL. Wall Street Zen lowered Norwood Financial from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, May 16th. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Norwood Financial from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 29th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $33.00.

Insider Transactions at Norwood Financial

In other news, CFO John Martin Mccaffery, Jr. purchased 1,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 30th. The shares were bought at an average price of $29.44 per share, for a total transaction of $29,440.00. Following the purchase, the chief financial officer directly owned 4,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $117,760. This trade represents a 33.33% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In the last quarter, insiders have bought 3,297 shares of company stock valued at $97,483. Insiders own 8.10% of the company’s stock.

Norwood Financial Stock Performance

Shares of NWFL opened at $31.24 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.93, a current ratio of 0.93 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31. The stock has a market cap of $340.20 million, a P/E ratio of 11.53 and a beta of 0.55. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $30.91 and its 200-day moving average price is $30.10. Norwood Financial Corp. has a 52 week low of $23.70 and a 52 week high of $32.86.

Norwood Financial (NASDAQ:NWFL) last released its earnings results on Monday, April 27th. The financial services provider reported $0.72 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.81 by ($0.09). Norwood Financial had a return on equity of 12.43% and a net margin of 17.75%.The company had revenue of $3.12 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $27.50 million. Equities research analysts anticipate that Norwood Financial Corp. will post 3.45 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Norwood Financial Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, August 3rd. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, July 15th will be given a $0.32 dividend. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, July 15th. Norwood Financial’s payout ratio is currently 47.23%.

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. It also provides commercial loans comprising lines of credit, revolving credit, term loans, mortgages, secured lending products, and letter of credit facilities; municipal finance lending; construction loans for commercial construction projects and single-family residences; land loans; construction financing; consumer loans; mortgage lending to finance principal residences and second home dwellings; and indirect dealer financing of new and used automobiles, boats, and recreational vehicles.