Bankwell Financial Group (NASDAQ:BWFG) Is Due To Pay A Dividend Of $0.20

Simply Wall St
·3 min read

Bankwell Financial Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:BWFG) will pay a dividend of $0.20 on the 23rd of February. This means the dividend yield will be fairly typical at 2.6%.

See our latest analysis for Bankwell Financial Group

Bankwell Financial Group's Payment Expected To Have Solid Earnings Coverage

Unless the payments are sustainable, the dividend yield doesn't mean too much.

Bankwell Financial Group has a good history of paying out dividends, with its current track record at 7 years. While past records don't necessarily translate into future results, the company's payout ratio of 16% also shows that Bankwell Financial Group is able to comfortably pay dividends.

Over the next 3 years, EPS is forecast to fall by 26.9%. Despite that, analysts estimate the future payout ratio could be 19% over the same time period, which is in a pretty comfortable range.

historic-dividend
historic-dividend

Bankwell Financial Group Is Still Building Its Track Record

Bankwell Financial Group's dividend has been pretty stable for a little while now, but we will continue to be cautious until it has been demonstrated for a few more years. The dividend has gone from an annual total of $0.20 in 2016 to the most recent total annual payment of $0.80. This implies that the company grew its distributions at a yearly rate of about 22% over that duration. The dividend has been growing rapidly, however with such a short payment history we can't know for sure if payment can continue to grow over the long term, so caution may be warranted.

The Dividend Looks Likely To Grow

Investors could be attracted to the stock based on the quality of its payment history. Bankwell Financial Group has impressed us by growing EPS at 23% per year over the past five years. Earnings per share is growing at a solid clip, and the payout ratio is low which we think is an ideal combination in a dividend stock as the company can quite easily raise the dividend in the future.

We Really Like Bankwell Financial Group's Dividend

Overall, we like to see the dividend staying consistent, and we think Bankwell Financial Group might even raise payments in the future. The earnings easily cover the company's distributions, and the company is generating plenty of cash. If earnings do fall over the next 12 months, the dividend could be buffeted a little bit, but we don't think it should cause too much of a problem in the long term. All in all, this checks a lot of the boxes we look for when choosing an income stock.

Market movements attest to how highly valued a consistent dividend policy is compared to one which is more unpredictable. Meanwhile, despite the importance of dividend payments, they are not the only factors our readers should know when assessing a company. Case in point: We've spotted 2 warning signs for Bankwell Financial Group (of which 1 shouldn't be ignored!) you should know about. Looking for more high-yielding dividend ideas? Try our collection of strong dividend payers.

Have feedback on this article? Concerned about the content? Get in touch with us directly. Alternatively, email editorial-team (at) simplywallst.com.

This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. We provide commentary based on historical data and analyst forecasts only using an unbiased methodology and our articles are not intended to be financial advice. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. We aim to bring you long-term focused analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. Simply Wall St has no position in any stocks mentioned.

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