Comparing Bank First National (NASDAQ:BFC) & Bankwell Financial Group (NASDAQ:BWFG)

Bankwell Financial Group (NASDAQ:BWFG) and Bank First National (NASDAQ:BFC) are both small-cap finance companies, but which is the better investment? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their analyst recommendations, valuation, dividends, profitability, earnings, institutional ownership and risk.

Profitability

This table compares Bankwell Financial Group and Bank First National’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Bankwell Financial Group	16.94%	12.40%	1.09%
Bank First National	29.31%	11.68%	1.66%

Risk and Volatility

Bankwell Financial Group has a beta of 0.7, meaning that its share price is 30% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Bank First National has a beta of 0.42, meaning that its share price is 58% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares Bankwell Financial Group and Bank First National”s gross revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Bankwell Financial Group	$108.32 million	3.66	$35.20 million	$4.44	11.35
Bank First National	$170.12 million	8.76	$71.50 million	$7.23	20.96

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

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of current ratings and recommmendations for Bankwell Financial Group and Bank First National, as reported by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Bankwell Financial Group	0	2	2	0	2.50
Bank First National	0	1	3	1	3.00

Bankwell Financial Group presently has a consensus price target of $52.00, indicating a potential upside of 3.17%. Bank First National has a consensus price target of $150.00, indicating a potential downside of 1.00%. Given Bankwell Financial Group’s higher probable upside, equities research analysts clearly believe Bankwell Financial Group is more favorable than Bank First National.

Insider & Institutional Ownership

35.8% of Bankwell Financial Group shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 30.0% of Bank First National shares are owned by institutional investors. 19.5% of Bankwell Financial Group shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 3.4% of Bank First National shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, endowments and hedge funds believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Dividends

Bankwell Financial Group pays an annual dividend of $0.80 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.6%. Bank First National pays an annual dividend of $2.00 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.3%. Bankwell Financial Group pays out 18.0% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Bank First National pays out 27.7% 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. Bank First National has increased its dividend for 10 consecutive years. Bankwell Financial Group is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and lower payout ratio.

Summary

Bank First National beats Bankwell Financial Group on 11 of the 18 factors compared between the two stocks.

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 Bank First National

Bank First Corporation operates as a holding company for Bank First, N.A. that provides consumer and commercial financial services to businesses, professionals, consumers, associations, individuals, and governmental authorities in Wisconsin. It offers checking, savings, money market, cash management, retirement, and health savings accounts; other time deposits; certificates of deposit; and residential mortgage products. The company's loan products include real estate loans, including commercial real estate, residential mortgage, and home equity loans; commercial and industrial loans for working capital, accounts receivable, inventory financing, and other business purposes; construction and development loans; residential 1-4 family loans; and consumer loans for personal and household purposes, including secured and unsecured installment loans, and revolving lines of credit. It also provides credit cards; ATM processing; insurance; data processing and other information technology; investment and safekeeping; treasury management; and online, telephone, and mobile banking services. The company was formerly known as Bank First National Corporation and changed its name to Bank First Corporation in June 2019. Bank First Corporation was founded in 1894 and is headquartered in Manitowoc, Wisconsin.