ICICI Bank (NYSE:IBN) vs. Finward Bancorp (NASDAQ:FNWD) Critical Analysis

Finward Bancorp (NASDAQ:FNWD) and ICICI Bank (NYSE:IBN) are both finance companies, but which is the better business? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their institutional ownership, dividends, profitability, earnings, analyst recommendations, risk and valuation.

Analyst Recommendations

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

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Finward Bancorp	0	1	2	0	2.67
ICICI Bank	0	2	1	1	2.75

Finward Bancorp presently has a consensus target price of $41.00, suggesting a potential downside of 6.26%. Given Finward Bancorp’s higher probable upside, research analysts clearly believe Finward Bancorp is more favorable than ICICI Bank.

Volatility and Risk

Finward Bancorp has a beta of 0.16, indicating that its stock price is 84% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, ICICI Bank has a beta of 0.41, indicating that its stock price is 59% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Dividends

Finward Bancorp pays an annual dividend of $0.48 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.1%. ICICI Bank pays an annual dividend of $0.21 per share and has a dividend yield of 0.7%. Finward Bancorp pays out 21.1% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. ICICI Bank 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.

Insider & Institutional Ownership

26.6% of Finward Bancorp shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 18.2% of ICICI Bank shares are owned by institutional investors. 13.1% of Finward Bancorp shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, large money managers and endowments believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

Earnings & Valuation

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

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Finward Bancorp	$101.06 million	1.87	$8.09 million	$2.27	19.27
ICICI Bank	$22.73 billion	4.81	$6.13 billion	$1.58	19.29

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

Profitability

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

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Finward Bancorp	9.65%	5.68%	0.48%
ICICI Bank	25.60%	13.81%	1.82%

Summary

ICICI Bank beats Finward Bancorp on 11 of the 17 factors compared between the two stocks.

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.

About ICICI Bank

ICICI Bank Limited provides various banking products and services in India and internationally. It operates through Retail Banking, Wholesale Banking, Treasury, Other Banking, Life Insurance, and Others segments. The company offers savings, salary, pension, current, and other accounts; and time, fixed, recurring, and security deposits services. It also provides home, car, two-wheeler, personal, gold, and commercial business loans, as well as loans against securities and other loans; business loans, including working capital finance, term loans, collateral free loans, loans without financials, finance for importers and exporters, and overdraft facilities, as well as loans for new entities and card swipes; and credit, debit, prepaid, travel, forex, and corporate cards. In addition, the company offers pockets wallet; fixed income products; investment products, such as mutual funds, gold monetization schemes, initial public offerings, and other online investment services; and agri and rural business, farmer finance, tractor loans, and micro banking services, as well as other services to agri corporates. Further, it provides portfolio management, trade, foreign exchange, locker, private and NRI banking, and cash management services; family wealth and demat accounts; commercial and investment banking, capital market, custodial, and institutional banking services; health, personal accident, fire, and motor insurance, as well as distributes general and life insurance products; and Internet, mobile, and phone banking services. Additionally, the company offers securities investment, broking, trading, and underwriting services; and merchant banking, trusteeship, housing finance, pension fund management, asset management, investment advisory, points of presence, and private equity/venture capital fund management services. ICICI Bank Limited was founded in 1955 and is headquartered in Mumbai, India.