Finward Bancorp Common Stock (FNWD)

FairStock Score: 33/100 — RISKY

Key Financials

AI Analysis

AI-generated, general educational analysis — not personal investment advice.

Looking at Finward Bancorp, I see a small regional bank holding company with a $179.5 million market cap and 296 employees. Its business is deposits and loans, mostly residential mortgages and construction loans. The filed figures show net income of $8.1 million in FY2025, the year ended 2025-12-31, down from $12.1 million in FY2024, though up from $8.4 million in FY2023. In the latest filed quarter, fiscal Q2 2026, the quarter ended 2026-06-30, net income was $2.1 million and diluted EPS was $0.48. That is not the steady upward slope I prefer. FairStock calculates return on equity at 5.90%, and price-to-book at 1.01 at the 2026-10-13 close of $41.42. Paying about book value for a bank earning under 6% on equity is not a clear bargain. The P/E of 18.25 on EPS of $2.27 also leaves little room for disappointment. The dividend yield is 1.15%, and beta of 0.17 suggests low volatility, but low volatility is not the same as safety. FairStock's Lynch category is a slow grower that is shrinking, with profit down 12.7% a year over five years, and its Piotroski F-Score is 4/9. A small bank can have a local deposit moat, but these numbers do not show pricing power or high returns. CET1, net interest margin, and combined ratio are not in the data, so I cannot fully judge leverage and credit risk. Graham would demand a margin of safety; at about book value with weak returns and inconsistent earnings, I see little margin. This is not an obvious mispricing.

In plain English: Finward Bancorp is a small bank holding company that takes deposits and makes loans, mostly mortgages and construction loans. It is still profitable, but profits have been uneven and the returns it earns on shareholder money are low. At the recent $41.42 close, the stock looks about fairly valued compared with its accounting value and profits, not a clear bargain.

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Data as of 2026-10-13 close · note generated 2026-10-15 · model deepseek-flash

Sources (SEC EDGAR): fiscal Q2 2026 10-Q (period ended 2026-06-30) · fiscal Q1 2026 10-Q (period ended 2026-03-31) · fiscal Q3 2025 10-Q (period ended 2025-09-30) · fiscal Q2 2025 10-Q (period ended 2025-06-30) · FY2025 10-K (period ended 2025-12-31) · FY2024 10-K (period ended 2024-12-31) · FY2023 10-K (period ended 2023-12-31)

Fundamentals from company filings and market-data providers; prices are end-of-day, not real-time. AI-generated analysis is general and educational — not personal investment advice. Scoring methodology · Score test · Disclaimer