Head-To-Head Contrast: Bankwell Financial Group (NASDAQ:BWFG) versus Banco Bradesco (NYSE:BBDO)

Bankwell Financial Group (NASDAQ:BWFG) and Banco Bradesco (NYSE:BBDO) are both finance companies, but which is the better investment? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their profitability, institutional ownership, analyst recommendations, dividends, risk, earnings and valuation.

Analyst Ratings

This is a summary of recent recommendations and price targets for Bankwell Financial Group and Banco Bradesco, as reported by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Bankwell Financial Group	0	0	1	0	3.00
Banco Bradesco	0	0	0	0	N/A

Bankwell Financial Group presently has a consensus price target of $34.00, suggesting a potential upside of 13.48%. Given Bankwell Financial Group’s higher possible upside, research analysts plainly believe Bankwell Financial Group is more favorable than Banco Bradesco.

Volatility and Risk

Bankwell Financial Group has a beta of 0.83, meaning that its stock price is 17% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Banco Bradesco has a beta of 1.14, meaning that its stock price is 14% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Dividends

Bankwell Financial Group pays an annual dividend of $0.80 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.7%. Banco Bradesco pays an annual dividend of $0.03 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.2%. Bankwell Financial Group pays out 20.8% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Banco Bradesco pays out 13.0% 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.

Insider and Institutional Ownership

35.8% of Bankwell Financial Group shares are held by institutional investors. 19.2% of Bankwell Financial Group shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 0.3% of Banco Bradesco shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, large money managers and hedge funds believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares Bankwell Financial Group and Banco Bradesco’s gross revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Bankwell Financial Group	$193.30 million	1.22	$36.66 million	$3.84	7.80
Banco Bradesco	$39.41 billion	N/A	$2.85 billion	$0.23	10.91

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

Profitability

This table compares Bankwell Financial Group and Banco Bradesco’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Bankwell Financial Group	11.76%	8.76%	0.73%
Banco Bradesco	6.68%	9.88%	0.85%

About Bankwell Financial Group

Bankwell Financial Group, Inc. operates as the bank holding company for Bankwell Bank that provides various banking services for individual and commercial customers. It offers various traditional depository products, including checking, savings, money market, and certificates of deposit. The company also provides first mortgage loans secured by one-to-four family owner occupied residential properties for personal use; home equity loans and home equity lines of credit secured by owner occupied one-to-four family residential properties; loans secured by commercial real estate, multi-family dwellings, owner-occupied commercial real estate, and investor-owned one-to-four family dwellings; commercial construction loans for commercial development projects, including apartment buildings and condominiums, as well as office buildings, retail, and other income producing properties; land loans; commercial business loans secured by assignments of corporate assets and personal guarantees of the business owners; loans to finance insurance premiums; overdraft lines of credit; and unsecured personal loans. It operates branches in New Canaan, Stamford, Fairfield, Westport, Darien, Norwalk, and Hamden, Connecticut. The company was formerly known as BNC Financial Group, Inc. and changed its name to Bankwell Financial Group, Inc. in September 2013. Bankwell Financial Group, Inc. was founded in 2002 and is headquartered in New Canaan, Connecticut.

About Banco Bradesco

Banco Bradesco S.A., together with its subsidiaries, provides various banking products and services to individuals, corporates, and businesses in Brazil and internationally. The company operates through two segments, Banking and Insurance. It provides current, savings, click, and salary accounts; real estate credit, vehicle financing, payroll loans, mortgage loans, microcredit, leasing, and personal and installment credit; overdraft and agribusiness loans; debit and business cards; financial and security services; consortium products; car, personal accident, dental, travel, and life insurance; investment products; pension products; foreign currency exchange services; capitalization bonds; and internet banking services. Banco Bradesco S.A. was founded in 1943 and is headquartered in Osasco, Brazil.