S&T Bancorp (NASDAQ:STBA – Get Rating) and Bankwell Financial Group (NASDAQ:BWFG – Get Rating) are both small-cap finance companies, but which is the better stock? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their institutional ownership, analyst recommendations, valuation, profitability, dividends, earnings and risk.
Volatility & Risk
S&T Bancorp has a beta of 0.76, suggesting that its share price is 24% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Bankwell Financial Group has a beta of 0.71, suggesting that its share price is 29% less volatile than the S&P 500.
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Insider and Institutional Ownership
61.9% of S&T Bancorp shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 33.5% of Bankwell Financial Group shares are held by institutional investors. 1.5% of S&T Bancorp shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 28.0% of Bankwell Financial Group shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, large money managers and hedge funds believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.
Earnings & Valuation
This table compares S&T Bancorp and Bankwell Financial Group's top-line revenue, earnings per share and valuation.
| Gross Revenue | Price/Sales Ratio | Net Income | Earnings Per Share | Price/Earnings Ratio |
| S&T Bancorp | $353.87 million | 3.77 | $110.34 million | $3.01 | 11.36 |
| Bankwell Financial Group | $87.03 million | 2.61 | $26.59 million | $4.76 | 6.18 |
S&T Bancorp has higher revenue and earnings than Bankwell Financial Group. Bankwell Financial Group is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than S&T Bancorp, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.
Analyst Ratings
This is a summary of recent recommendations and price targets for S&T Bancorp and Bankwell Financial Group, as provided by MarketBeat.com.
| Sell Ratings | Hold Ratings | Buy Ratings | Strong Buy Ratings | Rating Score |
| S&T Bancorp | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 2.00 |
| Bankwell Financial Group | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | N/A |
S&T Bancorp currently has a consensus target price of $32.00, suggesting a potential downside of 6.38%. Given S&T Bancorp's higher probable upside, equities research analysts clearly believe S&T Bancorp is more favorable than Bankwell Financial Group.
Profitability
This table compares S&T Bancorp and Bankwell Financial Group's net margins, return on equity and return on assets.
| Net Margins | Return on Equity | Return on Assets |
| S&T Bancorp | 32.04% | 9.97% | 1.27% |
| Bankwell Financial Group | 35.94% | 15.73% | 1.35% |
Dividends
S&T Bancorp pays an annual dividend of $1.24 per share and has a dividend yield of 3.6%. Bankwell Financial Group pays an annual dividend of $0.80 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.7%. S&T Bancorp pays out 41.2% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Bankwell Financial Group pays out 16.8% 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. S&T Bancorp has raised its dividend for 2 consecutive years and Bankwell Financial Group has raised its dividend for 5 consecutive years.
Summary
S&T Bancorp beats Bankwell Financial Group on 8 of the 15 factors compared between the two stocks.
About S&T Bancorp
(Get Rating)
S&T Bancorp, Inc. operates as the bank holding company for S&T Bank that provides retail and commercial banking products and services. The company operates through six segments: Commercial Real Estate, Commercial and Industrial, Business Banking, Commercial Construction, Consumer Real Estate, and Other Consumer. The company accepts time and demand deposits; and offers commercial and consumer loans, cash management services, and brokerage and trust services, as well as acts as guardian and custodian of employee benefits. It also manages private investment accounts for individuals and institutions. In addition, the company distributes life insurance and long-term disability income insurance products, as well as offers title insurance agency services to commercial customers; and acts as a reinsurer of credit life, accident, and health insurance policies. As of December 31, 2021, it operated 73 banking branches and 5 loan production offices located in Western Pennsylvania, Eastern Pennsylvania, Northeast Ohio, Central Ohio, and Upstate New York. S&T Bancorp, Inc. was founded in 1902 and is headquartered in Indiana, Pennsylvania.
About Bankwell Financial Group
(Get Rating)
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, 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 secured by savings or certificate accounts and automobiles; and unsecured personal loans and overdraft lines of credit. It operates branches in New Canaan, Stamford, Fairfield, Wilton, 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.
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