Comparing Fifth District Savings Bank (NASDAQ:FDSB) and Finward Bancorp (NASDAQ:FNWD)

Fifth District Savings Bank (NASDAQ:FDSB) and Finward Bancorp (NASDAQ:FNWD) are both small-cap finance companies, but which is the better business? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their analyst recommendations, earnings, risk, valuation, profitability, institutional ownership and dividends.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of current ratings for Fifth District Savings Bank and Finward Bancorp, as provided by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Fifth District Savings Bank	0	0	0	0	0.00
Finward Bancorp	0	1	1	0	2.50

Finward Bancorp has a consensus target price of $32.50, indicating a potential upside of 5.42%. Given Finward Bancorp’s stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, analysts clearly believe Finward Bancorp is more favorable than Fifth District Savings Bank.

Profitability

This table compares Fifth District Savings Bank and Finward Bancorp’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Fifth District Savings Bank	N/A	N/A	N/A
Finward Bancorp	10.85%	7.91%	0.58%

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares Fifth District Savings Bank and Finward Bancorp”s revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Fifth District Savings Bank	$9.93 million	6.99	N/A	N/A	N/A
Finward Bancorp	$61.38 million	2.17	$12.13 million	$0.77	40.04

Finward Bancorp has higher revenue and earnings than Fifth District Savings Bank.

Insider & Institutional Ownership

26.6% of Finward Bancorp shares are owned by institutional investors. 13.1% of Finward Bancorp shares are owned by company 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

Finward Bancorp beats Fifth District Savings Bank on 9 of the 10 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Fifth District Savings Bank

Fifth District Bancorp, Inc. is the holding company for Fifth District Savings Bank which provide all banking services. Fifth District Bancorp, Inc. is based in NEW ORLEANS.

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.