Head to Head Review: Finward Bancorp (NASDAQ:FNWD) and Jefferies Financial Group (NYSE:JEF)

Jefferies Financial Group (NYSE:JEF) and Finward Bancorp (NASDAQ:FNWD) are both finance companies, but which is the superior business? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their profitability, earnings, valuation, risk, dividends, analyst recommendations and institutional ownership.

Insider & Institutional Ownership

60.9% of Jefferies Financial Group shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 26.6% of Finward Bancorp shares are held by institutional investors. 19.8% of Jefferies Financial 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 hedge funds, endowments and large money managers believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

Risk & Volatility

Jefferies Financial Group has a beta of 1.51, suggesting that its share price is 51% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Finward Bancorp has a beta of 0.31, suggesting that its share price is 69% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of recent recommendations for Jefferies Financial Group and Finward Bancorp, as provided by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Jefferies Financial Group	0	3	4	0	2.57
Finward Bancorp	0	2	1	0	2.33

Jefferies Financial Group presently has a consensus target price of $72.71, suggesting a potential upside of 13.25%. Finward Bancorp has a consensus target price of $34.00, suggesting a potential downside of 4.66%. Given Jefferies Financial Group’s stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, equities analysts plainly believe Jefferies Financial Group is more favorable than Finward Bancorp.

Profitability

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

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Jefferies Financial Group	6.56%	7.31%	1.10%
Finward Bancorp	8.01%	5.27%	0.40%

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares Jefferies Financial Group and Finward Bancorp”s revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Jefferies Financial Group	$10.82 billion	1.22	$710.47 million	$2.83	22.69
Finward Bancorp	$111.82 million	1.38	$12.13 million	$1.91	18.67

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

Dividends

Jefferies Financial Group pays an annual dividend of $1.60 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.5%. Finward Bancorp pays an annual dividend of $0.48 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.3%. Jefferies Financial Group pays out 56.5% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Finward Bancorp pays out 25.1% 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. Jefferies Financial Group has raised its dividend for 2 consecutive years. Jefferies Financial Group is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and longer track record of dividend growth.

Summary

Jefferies Financial Group beats Finward Bancorp on 14 of the 17 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Jefferies Financial Group

Jefferies Financial Group Inc. operates as an investment banking and capital markets firm in the Americas, Europe, the Middle East, and the Asia-Pacific. The company operates in two segments, Investment Banking and Capital Markets, and Asset Management. It provides investment banking, advisory services with respect to mergers or acquisitions, debt financing, restructurings or recapitalizations, and private capital advisory transactions; underwriting and placement services related to corporate debt, municipal bonds, mortgage-backed and asset-backed securities, equity and equity-linked securities, and loan syndication services; and corporate lending services. The company also offers financing, securities lending, and other prime brokerage services; equities research, sales, and trading services; wealth management services; and online foreign exchange trading services. In addition, it provides investment grade distressed debt securities, U.S. and European government and agency securities, municipal bonds, leveraged loans, emerging markets debt, and interest rate and credit index derivative products; and manages and offers services to a diverse group of alternative asset management platforms across a spectrum of investment strategies and asset classes. The company was formerly known as Leucadia National Corporation and changed its name to Jefferies Financial Group Inc. in May 2018. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. was founded in 1962 and is headquartered in New York, New York.

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.