Critical Analysis: Finward Bancorp (NASDAQ:FNWD) versus Greystone Housing Impact Investors (NYSE:GHI)

Greystone Housing Impact Investors (NYSE:GHI) and Finward Bancorp (NASDAQ:FNWD) are both small-cap finance companies, but which is the superior business? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their profitability, valuation, risk, institutional ownership, earnings, analyst recommendations and dividends.

Volatility & Risk

Greystone Housing Impact Investors has a beta of 0.57, meaning that its share price is 43% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Finward Bancorp has a beta of 0.31, meaning that its share price is 69% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Institutional and Insider Ownership

9.0% of Greystone Housing Impact Investors shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 26.6% of Finward Bancorp shares are owned by institutional investors. 1.8% of Greystone Housing Impact Investors shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 13.1% of Finward Bancorp shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, large money managers and endowments believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of recent ratings and recommmendations for Greystone Housing Impact Investors and Finward Bancorp, as provided by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Greystone Housing Impact Investors	1	0	4	0	2.60
Finward Bancorp	0	2	1	0	2.33

Greystone Housing Impact Investors presently has a consensus target price of $13.00, suggesting a potential upside of 62.40%. Finward Bancorp has a consensus target price of $34.00, suggesting a potential downside of 5.32%. Given Greystone Housing Impact Investors’ stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, research analysts clearly believe Greystone Housing Impact Investors is more favorable than Finward Bancorp.

Dividends

Greystone Housing Impact Investors pays an annual dividend of $1.00 per share and has a dividend yield of 12.5%. Finward Bancorp pays an annual dividend of $0.48 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.3%. Greystone Housing Impact Investors pays out 555.6% of its earnings in the form of a dividend, suggesting it may not have sufficient earnings to cover its dividend payment in the future. Finward Bancorp pays out 25.1% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Greystone Housing Impact Investors has increased its dividend for 4 consecutive years. Greystone Housing Impact Investors is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and longer track record of dividend growth.

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares Greystone Housing Impact Investors and Finward Bancorp”s gross revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Greystone Housing Impact Investors	$91.27 million	2.07	$21.32 million	$0.18	44.47
Finward Bancorp	$111.82 million	1.39	$12.13 million	$1.91	18.80

Greystone Housing Impact Investors has higher earnings, but lower revenue than Finward Bancorp. Finward Bancorp is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Greystone Housing Impact Investors, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Profitability

This table compares Greystone Housing Impact Investors and Finward Bancorp’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Greystone Housing Impact Investors	8.11%	8.07%	1.55%
Finward Bancorp	8.01%	5.27%	0.40%

Summary

Greystone Housing Impact Investors beats Finward Bancorp on 12 of the 17 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Greystone Housing Impact Investors

Greystone Housing Impact Investors LP acquires, holds, sells, and deals in a portfolio of mortgage revenue bonds (MRBs) that are issued to provide construction and/or permanent financing for multifamily, student, and senior citizen housing; skilled nursing properties; and commercial properties in the United States. The company operates in four segments: Affordable Multifamily MRB Investments; Seniors and Skilled Nursing MRB Investments; MF Properties; Market-Rate Joint Venture Investments. It also invests in governmental issuer loans. The company was formerly known as America First Multifamily Investors, L.P. and changed its name to Greystone Housing Impact Investors LP in December 2022. Greystone Housing Impact Investors LP was incorporated in 1998 and is based in Omaha, Nebraska.

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.