Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) and Finward Bancorp (NASDAQ:FNWD) Head-To-Head Review

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

Earnings and Valuation

This table compares Finward Bancorp and Synchrony Financial”s top-line revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Finward Bancorp	$101.06 million	1.62	$8.09 million	$1.88	20.14
Synchrony Financial	$22.60 billion	1.20	$3.55 billion	$9.29	8.10

Synchrony Financial has higher revenue and earnings than Finward Bancorp. Synchrony Financial 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

Finward Bancorp pays an annual dividend of $0.48 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.3%. Synchrony Financial pays an annual dividend of $1.20 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.6%. Finward Bancorp pays out 25.5% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Synchrony Financial pays out 12.9% 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. Synchrony Financial has increased its dividend for 4 consecutive years. Synchrony Financial is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and longer track record of dividend growth.

Profitability

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

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Finward Bancorp	8.00%	5.15%	0.39%
Synchrony Financial	15.72%	23.07%	3.01%

Insider & Institutional Ownership

26.6% of Finward Bancorp shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 96.5% of Synchrony Financial shares are held by institutional investors. 13.1% of Finward Bancorp shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 0.3% of Synchrony Financial shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, hedge funds and endowments believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Risk & Volatility

Finward Bancorp has a beta of 0.33, suggesting that its stock price is 67% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Synchrony Financial has a beta of 1.43, suggesting that its stock price is 43% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Analyst Ratings

This is a summary of recent ratings and target prices for Finward Bancorp and Synchrony Financial, as reported by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Finward Bancorp	0	2	1	0	2.33
Synchrony Financial	0	9	13	1	2.65

Finward Bancorp currently has a consensus target price of $34.00, indicating a potential downside of 10.20%. Synchrony Financial has a consensus target price of $87.05, indicating a potential upside of 15.68%. Given Synchrony Financial’s stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, analysts clearly believe Synchrony Financial is more favorable than Finward Bancorp.

Summary

Synchrony Financial beats Finward Bancorp on 15 of the 18 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 Synchrony Financial

Synchrony Financial, together with its subsidiaries, operates as a consumer financial services company in the United States. It provides credit products, such as credit cards, commercial credit products, and consumer installment loans. The company also offers private label credit cards, dual co-brand and general purpose credit cards, short- and long-term installment loans, and consumer banking products; and deposit products, including certificates of deposit, individual retirement accounts, money market accounts, and savings accounts, and sweep and affinity deposits, as well as accepts deposits through third-party securities brokerage firms. In addition, it provides debt cancellation products to its credit card customers through online, mobile, and direct mail; and healthcare payments and financing solutions under the CareCredit and Walgreens brands; payments and financing solutions in the apparel, specialty retail, outdoor, music, and luxury industries, such as American Eagle, Dick's Sporting Goods, Guitar Center, Kawasaki, Pandora, Polaris, Suzuki, and Sweetwater. The company offers its credit products through programs established with a group of national and regional retailers, local merchants, manufacturers, buying groups, industry associations, and healthcare service providers; and deposit products through various channels, such as digital and print. It serves digital, health and wellness, retail, home, auto, telecommunications, jewelry, pets, and other industries. The company was founded in 1932 and is headquartered in Stamford, Connecticut.