Financial Review: Finward Bancorp (NASDAQ:FNWD) versus TC Bancshares (NASDAQ:TCBC)

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

Dividends

TC Bancshares pays an annual dividend of $0.10 per share and has a dividend yield of 0.7%. Finward Bancorp pays an annual dividend of $0.48 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.7%. Finward Bancorp pays out 17.0% of its earnings in the form of a dividend.

Profitability

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

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
TC Bancshares	N/A	N/A	N/A
Finward Bancorp	10.85%	7.91%	0.58%

Valuation & Earnings

This table compares TC Bancshares and Finward Bancorp”s top-line revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
TC Bancshares	$14.76 million	4.09	$600,000.00	N/A	N/A
Finward Bancorp	$70.21 million	1.77	$12.13 million	$2.83	10.18

Finward Bancorp has higher revenue and earnings than TC Bancshares.

Risk & Volatility

TC Bancshares has a beta of 0.14, indicating that its share price is 86% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Finward Bancorp has a beta of 0.28, indicating that its share price is 72% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of recent ratings for TC Bancshares and Finward Bancorp, as reported by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
TC Bancshares	0	0	0	0	0.00
Finward Bancorp	0	1	0	0	2.00

Finward Bancorp has a consensus price target of $31.00, indicating a potential upside of 7.60%. Given Finward Bancorp’s stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, analysts clearly believe Finward Bancorp is more favorable than TC Bancshares.

Institutional and Insider Ownership

23.6% of TC Bancshares shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 26.6% of Finward Bancorp shares are owned by institutional investors. 9.6% of TC Bancshares shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 13.7% of Finward Bancorp shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, large money managers and hedge funds believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

Summary

Finward Bancorp beats TC Bancshares on 11 of the 13 factors compared between the two stocks.

About TC Bancshares

TC Bancshares, Inc. operates as the holding company for TC Federal Bank that provides various banking services for individual and commercial customers in the United States. It accepts various deposit products, including personal checking accounts, business checking accounts, savings accounts, money market accounts, and certificates of deposit. The company also offers lending products comprising single-family residential loans, home equity lines of credit, closed-end home equity loans, consumer loans, commercial and multi-family residential real estate loans, commercial and industrial loans, construction loans, land development loans, and SBA/USDA guaranteed loans. It operates branches in Thomasville, Georgia and Tallahassee, Florida, as well as loan production offices in Savannah, Georgia, and Jacksonville, Florida. The company was founded in 1934 and is based in Thomasville, Georgia.

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.