Head to Head Review: Finward Bancorp (OTCMKTS:FNWD) & Bendigo and Adelaide Bank (OTCMKTS:BXRBF)

Dividends

Bendigo and Adelaide Bank pays an annual dividend of $0.31 per share and has a dividend yield of 4.9%. Finward Bancorp pays an annual dividend of $0.48 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.6%. Bendigo and Adelaide Bank pays out 37.1% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Finward Bancorp pays out 17.0% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Both companies have healthy payout ratios and should be able to cover their dividend payments with earnings for the next several years.

Institutional and Insider Ownership

15.6% of Bendigo and Adelaide Bank shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 26.6% of Finward Bancorp shares are owned by institutional investors. 13.7% of Finward Bancorp shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, hedge funds and large money managers believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

Valuation and Earnings

This table compares Bendigo and Adelaide Bank and Finward Bancorp”s gross revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Bendigo and Adelaide Bank	N/A	N/A	N/A	$0.84	7.54
Finward Bancorp	$70.21 million	1.79	$15.08 million	$2.83	10.29

Finward Bancorp has higher revenue and earnings than Bendigo and Adelaide Bank. Bendigo and Adelaide Bank is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Finward Bancorp, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Profitability

This table compares Bendigo and Adelaide Bank and Finward Bancorp’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Bendigo and Adelaide Bank	N/A	N/A	N/A
Finward Bancorp	14.46%	10.52%	0.67%

Summary

Finward Bancorp beats Bendigo and Adelaide Bank on 9 of the 10 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Bendigo and Adelaide Bank

Bendigo and Adelaide Bank Limited provides banking and financial products and services to retail customers and small to medium sized businesses in Australia. The company operates through Consumer, Business and Agribusiness, and Corporate segments. It offers a range of products and services, including personal and business banking, financial planning, commercial mortgages and unsecured loans, investment products, insurance, and superannuation. The company also provides retail banking products and services; home loans for the mortgage broker and mortgage manager market; rural bank products and services; wealth management services; investments and funds management services, commercial loans, access to funeral bonds, estates and trusts management services, and corporate trustee and custodial services; and banking products and services to agribusiness participants. It operates under the Bendigo Bank, AdelaideBank, Rural Bank, Community Bank, Up, Leveraged, Sandhurst Trustees, Community Enterprise Foundation, Homesafe Solutions, and Allance Bank brands. The company was founded in 1858 and is headquartered in Bendigo, Australia.

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. Its loan products portfolio comprises residential mortgage loans that enable borrowers to purchase existing homes, refinance existing homes, or construct new homes; construction loans primarily to individuals and contractors; commercial real estate loans; consumer loans to individuals for personal, household, or family purposes; home equity line of credit; home improvement loans and equity loans; commercial business loans; government loans; and loans to municipalities. The company also offers estate and retirement planning, custodial services, guardianships, IRA accounts, and investment agency accounts, as well as serves as the personal representative of estates, and acts as trustee for revocable and irrevocable trusts. In addition, it provides insurance and annuity investments to wealth management customers; holds real estate properties; and operates as a real estate investment trust. The company was formerly known as NorthWest Indiana Bancorp and changed its name to Finward Bancorp in May 2021. Finward Bancorp was founded in 1916 and is headquartered in Munster, Indiana.