Reviewing Huntington Bancshares (NASDAQ:HBANL) and Finward Bancorp (OTCMKTS:FNWD)

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

Profitability

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

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Huntington Bancshares	N/A	N/A	N/A
Finward Bancorp	14.46%	10.52%	0.67%

Institutional & Insider 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 hedge funds, large money managers and endowments believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of current ratings and target prices for Huntington Bancshares and Finward Bancorp, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Huntington Bancshares	0	0	0	0	N/A
Finward Bancorp	0	1	0	0	2.00

Finward Bancorp has a consensus price target of $30.00, indicating a potential upside of 20.19%. Given Finward Bancorp’s higher possible upside, analysts clearly believe Finward Bancorp is more favorable than Huntington Bancshares.

Earnings and Valuation

This table compares Huntington Bancshares and Finward Bancorp’s gross revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Huntington Bancshares	$7.36 billion	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A
Finward Bancorp	$65.30 million	1.64	$15.08 million	$1.94	12.87

Finward Bancorp has lower revenue, but higher earnings than Huntington Bancshares.

Dividends

Huntington Bancshares pays an annual dividend of $1.72 per share and has a dividend yield of 6.9%. Finward Bancorp pays an annual dividend of $0.48 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.9%. Finward Bancorp pays out 24.7% of its earnings in the form of a dividend.

Summary

Finward Bancorp beats Huntington Bancshares on 6 of the 9 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Huntington Bancshares

Huntington Bancshares Incorporated operates as the bank holding company for The Huntington National Bank that provides commercial, consumer, and mortgage banking services in the United States. The company offers financial products and services to consumer and business customers, including deposits, lending, payments, mortgage banking, dealer financing, investment management, trust, brokerage, insurance, and other financial products and services. It also provides 24-hour grace, asterisk-free checking, money scout, $50 safety zone, standby cash, early pay, instant access, savings goal getter, and Huntington heads up; digitally powered consumer and business financial solutions to consumer lending, regional banking, branch banking, and wealth management customers; direct and indirect consumer loans, as well as dealer finance loans and deposits; and private banking, wealth management and legacy planning through investment and portfolio management, fiduciary administration and trust, institutional custody, and full-service retail brokerage investment services. The company offers equipment financing, asset-based lending, distribution finance, structured lending, and municipal financing solutions, as well as Huntington ChoicePay. In addition, it offers lending, liquidity, treasury management and other payment services, and capital markets; government and non-profits, healthcare, technology and telecommunications, franchises, financial sponsors, and global services; and corporate risk management, institutional sales and trading, debt and equity issuance, and additional advisory services. The company offers its products through a network of channels, including branches and ATMs, online and mobile banking, and through customer call centers to customers in middle market banking, corporate, specialty, and government banking, asset finance, commercial real estate banking, and capital markets. The company was founded in 1866 and is headquartered in Columbus, Ohio.

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.