Analyzing Lloyds Banking Group (NYSE:LYG) and Finward Bancorp (NASDAQ:FNWD)

Lloyds Banking Group (NYSE:LYG) 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 profitability, risk, earnings, analyst recommendations, valuation, dividends and institutional ownership.

Institutional & Insider Ownership

2.1% of Lloyds Banking Group shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 26.6% of Finward Bancorp shares are held by institutional investors. 0.0% of Lloyds Banking Group shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 13.1% of Finward Bancorp shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, hedge funds and endowments believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

Analyst Ratings

This is a summary of current recommendations and price targets for Lloyds Banking Group and Finward Bancorp, as reported by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Lloyds Banking Group	1	4	6	0	2.45
Finward Bancorp	0	1	2	0	2.67

Lloyds Banking Group currently has a consensus target price of $6.00, suggesting a potential upside of 15.72%. Finward Bancorp has a consensus target price of $41.00, suggesting a potential downside of 6.90%. Given Lloyds Banking Group’s higher possible upside, research analysts clearly believe Lloyds Banking Group is more favorable than Finward Bancorp.

Profitability

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

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Lloyds Banking Group	28.13%	12.66%	0.61%
Finward Bancorp	7.52%	4.39%	0.38%

Valuation and Earnings

This table compares Lloyds Banking Group and Finward Bancorp”s gross revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Lloyds Banking Group	$25.61 billion	2.92	$6.14 billion	$0.53	9.78
Finward Bancorp	$101.06 million	1.89	$8.09 million	$1.77	24.88

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

Dividends

Lloyds Banking Group pays an annual dividend of $0.17 per share and has a dividend yield of 3.3%. Finward Bancorp pays an annual dividend of $0.48 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.1%. Lloyds Banking Group pays out 32.1% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Finward Bancorp pays out 27.1% 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.

Volatility and Risk

Lloyds Banking Group has a beta of 0.91, indicating that its share price is 9% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Finward Bancorp has a beta of 0.13, indicating that its share price is 87% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Summary

Lloyds Banking Group beats Finward Bancorp on 10 of the 16 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Lloyds Banking Group

Lloyds Banking Group is a UK-based financial services company serving personal, business and institutional customers. Its operations include retail and commercial banking, insurance, pensions and wealth management, delivered through brands such as Lloyds Bank, Halifax, Bank of Scotland and Scottish Widows. The group operates primarily in the United Kingdom, offering services including current and savings accounts, mortgages, lending, payment services, business banking and insurance products. Lloyds Banking Group was formed in 2009 following Lloyds TSB’s acquisition of HBOS.

About Finward Bancorp

Finward Bancorp (NASDAQ: FNWD) is a bank holding company headquartered in Munster, Indiana. Through its principal subsidiary, Peoples Bank, the company provides banking and financial services to individuals, families, businesses and organizations. Peoples Bank offers a range of deposit products, residential and commercial real estate lending, consumer loans, commercial financing and other banking services. The bank also provides digital banking tools and services designed to support customers with everyday account management and financial transactions.