Finward Bancorp (FNWD) Competitors

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

Do insiders and institutionals have more ownership in GNTY or FNWD?

39.4% of Guaranty Bancshares shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 26.6% of Finward Bancorp shares are held by institutional investors. 22.3% of Guaranty Bancshares shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 5.2% of Finward Bancorp shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, large money managers and hedge funds believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

Which has more volatility & risk, GNTY or FNWD?

Guaranty Bancshares has a beta of 0.47, indicating that its stock price is 53% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Finward Bancorp has a beta of 0.3, indicating that its stock price is 70% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Is GNTY or FNWD a better dividend stock?

Guaranty Bancshares pays an annual dividend of $1.00 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.0%. Finward Bancorp pays an annual dividend of $0.48 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.5%. Guaranty Bancshares pays out 31.8% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Finward Bancorp pays out 38.7% 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. Guaranty Bancshares has increased its dividend for 8 consecutive years. Guaranty Bancshares is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and longer track record of dividend growth.

Does the media refer more to GNTY or FNWD?

In the previous week, Finward Bancorp had 1 more articles in the media than Guaranty Bancshares. MarketBeat recorded 3 mentions for Finward Bancorp and 2 mentions for Guaranty Bancshares. Guaranty Bancshares' average media sentiment score of 0.87 beat Finward Bancorp's score of 0.39 indicating that Guaranty Bancshares is being referred to more favorably in the media.

Company	Very Positive	Positive	Neutral	Negative	Very Negative	Overall Sentiment
Guaranty Bancshares	0 Very Positive mention(s)	1 Positive mention(s)	1 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive
Finward Bancorp	0 Very Positive mention(s)	0 Positive mention(s)	1 Neutral mention(s)	1 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Neutral

Do analysts prefer GNTY or FNWD?

Guaranty Bancshares currently has a consensus price target of $45.00, indicating a potential downside of 8.59%. Finward Bancorp has a consensus price target of $34.00, indicating a potential upside of 5.69%. Given Finward Bancorp's higher possible upside, analysts plainly believe Finward Bancorp is more favorable than Guaranty Bancshares.

Company	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Guaranty Bancshares	0 Sell rating(s)	1 Hold rating(s)	1 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.50
Finward Bancorp	0 Sell rating(s)	1 Hold rating(s)	1 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.50

Which has stronger valuation & earnings, GNTY or FNWD?

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

Company	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Guaranty Bancshares	$123.09M	4.54	$31.54M	$3.14	15.68
Finward Bancorp	$111.82M	1.24	$12.13M	$1.24	25.94

Is GNTY or FNWD more profitable?

Guaranty Bancshares has a net margin of 17.15% compared to Finward Bancorp's net margin of 5.23%. Guaranty Bancshares' return on equity of 10.13% beat Finward Bancorp's return on equity.

Company	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Guaranty Bancshares	17.15%	10.13%	1.02%
Finward Bancorp	5.23%	3.45%	0.26%

Summary

Guaranty Bancshares beats Finward Bancorp on 14 of the 17 factors compared between the two stocks.