Contrasting Bogota Financial (NASDAQ:BSBK) and Bankwell Financial Group (NASDAQ:BWFG)

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

Insider and Institutional Ownership

11.6% of Bogota Financial shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 35.8% of Bankwell Financial Group shares are held by institutional investors. 5.0% of Bogota Financial shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 19.5% of Bankwell Financial Group shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, endowments and large money managers believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of recent ratings for Bogota Financial and Bankwell Financial Group, as provided by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Bogota Financial	0	1	0	0	2.00
Bankwell Financial Group	0	2	2	0	2.50

Bankwell Financial Group has a consensus target price of $47.50, suggesting a potential upside of 0.85%. Given Bankwell Financial Group’s stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, analysts plainly believe Bankwell Financial Group is more favorable than Bogota Financial.

Earnings and Valuation

This table compares Bogota Financial and Bankwell Financial Group”s revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Bogota Financial	$43.10 million	2.53	-$2.17 million	$0.05	168.40
Bankwell Financial Group	$195.71 million	1.90	$9.77 million	$3.61	13.05

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

Profitability

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

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Bogota Financial	1.08%	0.35%	0.05%
Bankwell Financial Group	14.10%	10.18%	0.88%

Risk and Volatility

Bogota Financial has a beta of 0.21, indicating that its share price is 79% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Bankwell Financial Group has a beta of 0.7, indicating that its share price is 30% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Summary

Bankwell Financial Group beats Bogota Financial on 12 of the 14 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Bogota Financial

Bogota Financial Corp. operates as the bank holding company for Bogota Savings Bank that provides banking products and services in the United States. It offers deposit accounts, including demand accounts, savings accounts, money market accounts, and certificate of deposit accounts. The company also provides one-to four-family residential real estate loans, and commercial real estate and multi-family loans; consumer loans, such as home equity loans and lines of credit; commercial and industrial loans; and construction loans; and buys, sells, and holds investment securities. It operates through various offices located in Bogota, Hasbrouck Heights, Newark, Oak Ridge, Parsippany, and Teaneck, as well as through a loan production office in Spring Lake, New Jersey. The company was founded in 1893 and is based in Teaneck, New Jersey. Bogota Financial Corp. operates as a subsidiary of Bogota Financial, MHC.

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.