We Think Shareholders Are Less Likely To Approve A Large Pay Rise For Bridgewater Bancshares, Inc.'s (NASDAQ:BWB) CEO For Now

CEO Jerry Baack has done a decent job of delivering relatively good performance at Bridgewater Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:BWB) recently. In light of this performance, CEO compensation will probably not be the main focus for shareholders as they go into the AGM on 27 April 2021. However, some shareholders may still want to keep CEO compensation within reason.

See our latest analysis for Bridgewater Bancshares

Comparing Bridgewater Bancshares, Inc.'s CEO Compensation With the industry

At the time of writing, our data shows that Bridgewater Bancshares, Inc. has a market capitalization of US$441m, and reported total annual CEO compensation of US$1.5m for the year to December 2020. That's a notable decrease of 12% on last year. While we always look at total compensation first, our analysis shows that the salary component is less, at US$575k.

For comparison, other companies in the same industry with market capitalizations ranging between US$200m and US$800m had a median total CEO compensation of US$1.1m. Hence, we can conclude that Jerry Baack is remunerated higher than the industry median. Furthermore, Jerry Baack directly owns US$18m worth of shares in the company, implying that they are deeply invested in the company's success.

Component	2020	2019	Proportion (2020)
Salary	US$575k	US$575k	39%
Other	US$883k	US$1.1m	61%
Total Compensation	US$1.5m	US$1.7m	100%

On an industry level, around 51% of total compensation represents salary and 49% is other remuneration. It's interesting to note that Bridgewater Bancshares allocates a smaller portion of compensation to salary in comparison to the broader industry. If total compensation is slanted towards non-salary benefits, it indicates that CEO pay is linked to company performance.

A Look at Bridgewater Bancshares, Inc.'s Growth Numbers

Bridgewater Bancshares, Inc.'s earnings per share (EPS) grew 11% per year over the last three years. It achieved revenue growth of 11% over the last year.

Overall this is a positive result for shareholders, showing that the company has improved in recent years. It's a real positive to see this sort of revenue growth in a single year. That suggests a healthy and growing business. Moving away from current form for a second, it could be important to check this free visual depiction of what analysts expect for the future.

Has Bridgewater Bancshares, Inc. Been A Good Investment?

Bridgewater Bancshares, Inc. has served shareholders reasonably well, with a total return of 21% over three years. But they probably wouldn't be so happy as to think the CEO should be paid more than is normal, for companies around this size.

To Conclude...

Seeing that the company has put up a decent performance, only a few shareholders, if any at all, might have questions about the CEO pay in the upcoming AGM. Still, not all shareholders might be in favor of a pay raise to the CEO, seeing that they are already being paid higher than the industry.

If you think CEO compensation levels are interesting you will probably really like this free visualization of insider trading at Bridgewater Bancshares.

Switching gears from Bridgewater Bancshares, if you're hunting for a pristine balance sheet and premium returns, this free list of high return, low debt companies is a great place to look.

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This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. 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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