Critical Review: Wintrust Financial (NASDAQ:WTFCM) versus Finward Bancorp (OTCMKTS:FNWD)

Wintrust Financial (NASDAQ:WTFCM) and Finward Bancorp (OTCMKTS:FNWD) are both financial services companies, but which is the better business? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their profitability, earnings, institutional ownership, dividends, valuation, analyst recommendations and risk.

Dividends

Wintrust Financial pays an annual dividend of $1.64 per share and has a dividend yield of 6.6%. Finward Bancorp pays an annual dividend of $0.48 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.5%. Finward Bancorp pays out 13.3% of its earnings in the form of a dividend.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of current ratings and recommmendations for Wintrust Financial and Finward Bancorp, as provided by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Wintrust Financial	0	0	0	0	N/A
Finward Bancorp	0	0	0	0	N/A

Profitability

This table compares Wintrust Financial and Finward Bancorp’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Wintrust Financial	N/A	N/A	N/A
Finward Bancorp	14.46%	10.52%	0.67%

Valuation and Earnings

This table compares Wintrust Financial and Finward Bancorp”s revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Wintrust Financial	$2.34 billion	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A
Finward Bancorp	$70.86 million	1.90	$15.08 million	$3.60	8.67

Finward Bancorp has lower revenue, but higher earnings than Wintrust Financial.

Insider & Institutional Ownership

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

Summary

Finward Bancorp beats Wintrust Financial on 5 of the 8 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Wintrust Financial

Wintrust Financial Corporation operates as a financial holding company. It operates in three segments: Community Banking, Specialty Finance, and Wealth Management. The Community Banking segment offers non-interest bearing deposits, non-brokered interest-bearing transaction accounts, and savings and domestic time deposits; home equity, consumer, and real estate loans; safe deposit facilities; and automatic teller machine (ATM), online and mobile banking, and other services. It also engages in the retail origination and purchase of residential mortgages; and provision of lending, deposits, and treasury management services to condominium, homeowner, and community associations, as well as asset-based lending for middle-market companies. In addition, this segment offers loan and deposit services to mortgage brokerage companies; lending to restaurant franchisees; direct leasing; small business administration loans; commercial mortgages and construction loans; and financial solutions. It provides personal and commercial banking services primarily to individuals, small to mid-sized businesses, local governmental units, and institutional clients. The Specialty Finance segment offers commercial and life insurance premiums financing for businesses and individuals; accounts receivable financing, value-added, and out-sourced administrative services; other specialty finance services; equipment financing through structured loan and lease products; and property and casualty premium financing; as well as data processing of payrolls, billing, and cash management services to temporary staffing industry. The Wealth Management segment provides wealth management services, such as trust and investment, asset management, tax-deferred exchange, securities brokerage, and retirement plan services. Wintrust Financial Corporation was founded in 1991 and is headquartered in Rosemont, Illinois.

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.