Contrasting Finward Bancorp (NASDAQ:FNWD) and BankUnited (NYSE:BKU)

BankUnited (NYSE:BKU) and Finward Bancorp (NASDAQ:FNWD) are both finance companies, but which is the superior investment? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their earnings, risk, institutional ownership, dividends, profitability, valuation and analyst recommendations.

Volatility and Risk

BankUnited has a beta of 1.34, indicating that its stock price is 34% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Finward Bancorp has a beta of 0.52, indicating that its stock price is 48% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares BankUnited and Finward Bancorp’s top-line revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
BankUnited	$1.94 billion	1.11	$178.67 million	$2.32	12.44
Finward Bancorp	$96.53 million	1.10	$8.38 million	$3.60	6.84

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

Profitability

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

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
BankUnited	8.71%	8.06%	0.58%
Finward Bancorp	14.11%	11.47%	0.73%

Analyst Ratings

This is a summary of recent recommendations for BankUnited and Finward Bancorp, as reported by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
BankUnited	2	7	0	0	1.78
Finward Bancorp	0	0	0	0	N/A

BankUnited presently has a consensus target price of $30.50, suggesting a potential upside of 5.72%. Given BankUnited’s higher probable upside, equities research analysts clearly believe BankUnited is more favorable than Finward Bancorp.

Dividends

BankUnited pays an annual dividend of $1.16 per share and has a dividend yield of 4.0%. Finward Bancorp pays an annual dividend of $0.48 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.9%. BankUnited pays out 50.0% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Finward Bancorp pays out 13.3% 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. BankUnited has increased its dividend for 3 consecutive years. BankUnited is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and longer track record of dividend growth.

Institutional and Insider Ownership

99.7% of BankUnited shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 26.6% of Finward Bancorp shares are held by institutional investors. 1.2% of BankUnited shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 13.7% of Finward Bancorp shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, endowments and hedge funds believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Summary

BankUnited beats Finward Bancorp on 9 of the 15 factors compared between the two stocks.

About BankUnited

BankUnited, Inc. operates as the bank holding company for BankUnited, a national banking association that provides a range of banking services in the United States. The company offers deposit products, such as checking, money market deposit, and savings accounts; certificates of deposit; and treasury, commercial payment, and cash management services. Its loans portfolio includes commercial loans, including equipment loans, secured and unsecured lines of credit, formula-based lines of credit, owner-occupied commercial real estate term loans and lines of credit, mortgage warehouse lines, subscription finance facilities, letters of credit, commercial credit cards, small business administration and U.S. department of agriculture product offerings, export-import bank financing products, trade finance, and business acquisition finance credit facilities; commercial real estate loans; residential mortgages; and other consumer loans. The company offers online, mobile, and telephone banking services. It operates through a network of banking centers located in Florida counties and the New York metropolitan area, as well as Dallas, Texas. The company was formerly known as BU Financial Corporation. BankUnited, Inc. was incorporated in 2009 and is headquartered in Miami Lakes, Florida.

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.