Head to Head Contrast: Finward Bancorp (NASDAQ:FNWD) & Oconee Federal Financial (NASDAQ:OFED)

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

Analyst Ratings

This is a summary of current recommendations and price targets for Oconee Federal Financial and Finward Bancorp, as provided by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Oconee Federal Financial	0	0	0	0	0.00
Finward Bancorp	0	0	1	0	3.00

Finward Bancorp has a consensus target price of $31.00, indicating a potential downside of 0.64%. Given Finward Bancorp’s stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, analysts clearly believe Finward Bancorp is more favorable than Oconee Federal Financial.

Dividends

Oconee Federal Financial pays an annual dividend of $0.40 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.8%. Finward Bancorp pays an annual dividend of $0.48 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.5%. Oconee Federal Financial pays out 33.9% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Finward Bancorp pays out 17.8% 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.

Institutional & Insider Ownership

26.6% of Finward Bancorp shares are held by institutional investors. 5.1% of Oconee Federal Financial shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 13.7% of Finward Bancorp shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, hedge funds and large money managers believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Profitability

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

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Oconee Federal Financial	N/A	N/A	N/A
Finward Bancorp	10.44%	7.60%	0.55%

Valuation and Earnings

This table compares Oconee Federal Financial and Finward Bancorp”s revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Oconee Federal Financial	$30.77 million	2.75	$6.26 million	$1.18	12.29
Finward Bancorp	$70.21 million	1.92	$8.38 million	$2.69	11.60

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

Volatility & Risk

Oconee Federal Financial has a beta of 0.24, indicating that its share price is 76% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Finward Bancorp has a beta of 0.53, indicating that its share price is 47% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Summary

Finward Bancorp beats Oconee Federal Financial on 13 of the 16 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Oconee Federal Financial

Oconee Federal Financial Corp. operates as a holding company for Oconee Federal Savings and Loan Association that provides various banking products and services in the Oconee and Pickens County areas of northwestern South Carolina, and the northeast area of Georgia in Stephens County and Rabun County. It offers deposit products, including demand, money market, NOW, savings, and individual retirement accounts, as well as certificates of deposit. The company’s loan portfolio comprises one-to-four family residential and multi-family real estate loans; home equity loans and lines of credit; nonresidential real estate loans; mortgage loans; construction and land loans; commercial and industrial loans; agricultural loans; and consumer and other loans, such as installment loans for various consumer purposes, including the purchase of automobiles, boats, and other legitimate personal purposes. Oconee Federal Financial Corp. was founded in 1924 and is based in Seneca, South Carolina. Oconee Federal Financial Corp. operates as a subsidiary of Oconee Federal, MHC.

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.