Company Overview
Hawthorn Bancshares, Inc. operates as the bank holding company for Hawthorn Bank, delivering a comprehensive suite of banking products and services tailored to families and businesses. This institution functions within the Financial Services sector, specifically categorized under the Banks - Regional industry, which characterizes its focus on localized community lending and deposit gathering rather than nationwide scale. The company manages a market capitalization of $228.52M and generated total revenue of $79.95M over the trailing twelve months while employing a workforce of 255 individuals. These valuation and revenue figures indicate that Hawthorn Bancshares, Inc. maintains a regional footprint with a relatively small market presence compared to large national banks, suggesting a niche role in serving specific geographic markets with a lean operational structure.
Financial Health
The financial performance of Hawthorn Bancshares, Inc. is defined by a trailing twelve-month revenue of $79.95M and a net income of $23.80M, while the EBITDA figure is not publicly disclosed in the available data. The substantial gap between the reported revenue of $79.95M and the net income of $23.80M reveals a cost structure where approximately 70% of revenue is absorbed by operating expenses, a typical characteristic of the banking industry where interest income is offset by loan losses, salaries, and overhead costs. Although free cash flow data is not provided in the current financial records, the company holds a cash balance of $105.49M against total debt obligations of $155.65M, indicating a reliance on borrowed funds to finance its operations or asset expansion. The balance sheet presents a mixed picture where the cash position covers a significant portion of debt, though the absence of a Debt to Equity ratio and Current Ratio prevents a definitive classification of the balance sheet as either conservative or leveraged based strictly on the provided metrics. Analysis of the three available margins shows a Gross Margin of 0.0%, which is standard for financial institutions as interest expense is often netted against interest income in core banking operations; an Operating Margin of 29.7% and a Profit Margin of 29.8% demonstrate the company's ability to convert a high percentage of revenue into bottom-line earnings after covering all operational costs. While Return on Assets stands at 1.3%, the Return on Equity is significantly higher at 14.7%, which highlights how the company utilizes shareholder capital effectively to generate profits, revealing that management is leveraging equity efficiently to drive returns despite the lower asset-based yield.
Valuation Assessment
Valuation metrics for Hawthorn Bancshares, Inc. show a Trailing Twelve Month P/E Ratio of 9.65, whereas the Forward P/E is not available, implying that the market currently values the stock based on historical earnings rather than projecting a specific growth trajectory for the near future. The Price to Book ratio is recorded at 1.31, suggesting that the market values the company at a premium of 31% over its tangible book value, reflecting investor confidence in the bank's brand and asset quality. Alternative valuation metrics include a Price to Sales ratio of 2.86, while the EV/EBITDA multiple is not applicable due to the lack of EBITDA data in the public filings. Regarding price action, the stock has traded within a 52-week range bounded by a high of $36.49 and a low of $25.38, meaning the current trading price sits somewhere within this historical volatility band. The Beta value is 0.51, which indicates that the stock's price volatility is less than half that of the broader market, suggesting it behaves as a defensive investment that moves less drastically during market swings compared to high-beta equities.
Growth & Income
The company has demonstrated robust growth with Revenue Growth of 8.7% year-over-year and Earnings Growth of 36.4% year-over-year, indicating that earnings are expanding significantly faster than revenue, which often points to improving operating leverage or favorable net interest margin expansion. As a dividend payer, the company offers a Dividend Yield of 2.5% with a Payout Ratio of 23.0%, a low ratio that suggests the dividend is highly sustainable given the company's strong earnings growth and ability to retain a large portion of profits for reinvestment. Since the payout ratio is well below 100%, the company retains ample earnings to fund internal growth initiatives, asset acquisitions, or capital improvements without needing to rely on external financing. The overall growth and income profile presents a balanced approach where the firm delivers steady revenue expansion, accelerated earnings growth, and a consistent, low-risk dividend yield for income-focused investors seeking stability in the regional banking sector.