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

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

Earnings and Valuation

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

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

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

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

Dividends

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

Analyst Ratings

This is a breakdown of current ratings and price targets for Banco Bradesco and Bankwell Financial Group, as provided by MarketBeat.com.

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

Bankwell Financial Group has a consensus target price of $34.00, indicating a potential upside of 13.48%. Given Bankwell Financial Group’s higher probable upside, analysts clearly believe Bankwell Financial Group is more favorable than Banco Bradesco.

Institutional & Insider Ownership

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

Risk and Volatility

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

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.

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.