Finward Bancorp (NASDAQ:FNWD) & Ponce Financial Group (NASDAQ:PDLB) Head to Head Analysis

Ponce Financial Group (NASDAQ:PDLB) and Finward Bancorp (NASDAQ:FNWD) are both small-cap finance companies, but which is the superior investment? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their profitability, risk, institutional ownership, valuation, dividends, earnings and analyst recommendations.

Institutional & Insider Ownership

64.4% of Ponce Financial Group shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 26.6% of Finward Bancorp shares are held by institutional investors. 6.7% of Ponce Financial Group shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 13.7% of Finward Bancorp shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, endowments and large money managers believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of current recommendations and price targets for Ponce Financial Group and Finward Bancorp, as reported by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Ponce Financial Group	0	0	0	0	N/A
Finward Bancorp	0	0	1	0	3.00

Finward Bancorp has a consensus price target of $31.00, indicating a potential upside of 8.01%. Given Finward Bancorp’s higher probable upside, analysts plainly believe Finward Bancorp is more favorable than Ponce Financial Group.

Valuation and Earnings

This table compares Ponce Financial Group 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
Ponce Financial Group	$136.09 million	1.99	$3.35 million	$0.25	45.56
Finward Bancorp	$70.86 million	1.75	$8.38 million	$3.60	7.97

Finward Bancorp has lower revenue, but higher earnings than Ponce Financial Group. Finward Bancorp is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Ponce Financial Group, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Risk & Volatility

Ponce Financial Group has a beta of 0.62, suggesting that its share price is 38% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Finward Bancorp has a beta of 0.52, suggesting that its share price is 48% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Profitability

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

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Ponce Financial Group	5.52%	3.26%	0.32%
Finward Bancorp	12.00%	9.26%	0.63%

Summary

Finward Bancorp beats Ponce Financial Group on 8 of the 13 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Ponce Financial Group

Ponce Financial Group, Inc. operates as the bank holding company for Ponce Bank that provides various banking products and services. It offers various deposit products, including demand accounts, NOW/IOLA, money market, reciprocal deposits, savings accounts, and certificates of deposit to individuals, business entities, and non-profit organizations, as well as individual retirement accounts. The company also provides real estate-secured loans, which includes one-to-four family investor-owned and owner-occupied residential; multifamily residential; nonresidential property; construction and land; commercial and industrial; and business and consumer loans, as well as lines of credit. In addition, it invests in securities, which consist of U.S. Government and federal agency securities and securities issued by government-sponsored or owned enterprises, as well as corporate securities, mortgage-backed securities, and Federal Home Loan Bank stock. Ponce Financial Group, Inc. was founded in 1960 and is headquartered in Bronx, New York.

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, guardianships, land trusts, profit sharing and 401(k) retirement plans, IRA and Keogh 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.