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Are You Looking for a High-Growth Dividend Stock? Bankwell Financial Group, Inc. (BWFG) Could Be a Great Choice

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Whether it's through stocks, bonds, ETFs, or other types of securities, all investors love seeing their portfolios score big returns. But for income investors, generating consistent cash flow from each of your liquid investments is your primary focus.

Cash flow can come from bond interest, interest from other types of investments, and of course, dividends. A dividend is the distribution of a company's earnings paid out to shareholders; it's often viewed by its dividend yield, a metric that measures a dividend as a percent of the current stock price. Many academic studies show that dividends make up large portions of long-term returns, and in many cases, dividend contributions surpass one-third of total returns.

Bankwell Financial Group, Inc. In Focus

Bankwell Financial Group, Inc. (BWFG - Free Report) is headquartered in New Canaan, and is in the Finance sector. The stock has seen a price change of 58.82% since the start of the year. Currently paying a dividend of $0.18 per share, the company has a dividend yield of 2.32%. In comparison, the Banks - Northeast industry's yield is 1.95%, while the S&P 500's yield is 1.35%.

In terms of dividend growth, the company's current annualized dividend of $0.72 is up 28.6% from last year. In the past five-year period, Bankwell Financial Group, Inc. has increased its dividend 4 times on a year-over-year basis for an average annual increase of 21.92%. Future dividend growth will depend on earnings growth as well as payout ratio, which is the proportion of a company's annual earnings per share that it pays out as a dividend. Bankwell Financial Group, Inc.'s current payout ratio is 29%. This means it paid out 29% of its trailing 12-month EPS as dividend.

BWFG is expecting earnings to expand this fiscal year as well. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for 2021 is $3.22 per share, with earnings expected to increase 329.33% from the year ago period.

Bottom Line

Investors like dividends for a variety of different reasons, from tax advantages and decreasing overall portfolio risk to considerably improving stock investing profits. It's important to keep in mind that not all companies provide a quarterly payout.

Big, established firms that have more secure profits are often seen as the best dividend options, but it's fairly uncommon to see high-growth businesses or tech start-ups offer their stockholders a dividend. Income investors must be conscious of the fact that high-yielding stocks tend to struggle during periods of rising interest rates. That said, they can take comfort from the fact that BWFG is not only an attractive dividend play, but is also a compelling investment opportunity with a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy).


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