Head-To-Head Contrast: Dacotah Banks (OTCMKTS:DBIN) & Bankwell Financial Group (NASDAQ:BWFG)

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

Analyst Ratings

This is a summary of current ratings and target prices for Bankwell Financial Group and Dacotah Banks, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Bankwell Financial Group	0	0	2	0	3.00
Dacotah Banks	0	0	0	0	N/A

Bankwell Financial Group currently has a consensus price target of $30.00, suggesting a potential upside of 25.00%. Given Bankwell Financial Group’s higher probable upside, equities analysts plainly believe Bankwell Financial Group is more favorable than Dacotah Banks.

Profitability

This table compares Bankwell Financial Group and Dacotah Banks’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Bankwell Financial Group	15.28%	11.67%	0.93%
Dacotah Banks	N/A	N/A	N/A

Dividends

Bankwell Financial Group pays an annual dividend of $0.80 per share and has a dividend yield of 3.3%. Dacotah Banks pays an annual dividend of $0.60 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.9%. Bankwell Financial Group pays out 20.8% of its earnings in the form of a dividend.

Volatility and Risk

Bankwell Financial Group has a beta of 0.8, meaning that its stock price is 20% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Dacotah Banks has a beta of 0.38, meaning that its stock price is 62% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Valuation and Earnings

This table compares Bankwell Financial Group and Dacotah Banks’ top-line revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Bankwell Financial Group	$193.30 million	0.98	$36.66 million	$3.84	6.25
Dacotah Banks	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A

Bankwell Financial Group has higher revenue and earnings than Dacotah Banks.

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 insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, endowments and hedge funds believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Summary

Bankwell Financial Group beats Dacotah Banks on 10 of the 11 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 Dacotah Banks

Dacotah Banks, Inc. provides various banking and financial products and services to individuals and businesses. The company provides demand and certificates of deposit; and checking, individual retirement, and money market accounts. It also offers vehicle, boat, motorhome, mortgage, camper, motorcycle, snowmobile, jet SKI, and ATV loans; and unsecured, overdraft protection, and student loans; line of credit, small business administration loans, and other loans. In addition, the company provides credit, debit, and gift cards; and personal insurance, personal investment, wealth management, estate, and trust services. Further, it offers retirement planning, investment management, foundation, endowment, bill paying, and elder care services, as well as cash management and merchant solutions. Additionally, the company provides leasing services, as well as estate planning and estate settlement services. Furthermore, the company offers operating lines of credit, real estate loans, and equipment loans and leases. It also provides crop, homeowner, health, life, farm, and ranch insurance services. It operates across various locations in Minnesota, North Dakota, and South Dakota. Dacotah Banks, Inc. was founded in 1955 and is headquartered in Aberdeen, South Dakota.