Insider Buying: Bankwell Financial Group (NASDAQ:BWFG) Director Acquires 323 Shares of Stock

Bankwell Financial Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:BWFG) Director Lawrence Seidman purchased 323 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, June 5th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $53.70 per share, with a total value of $17,345.10. Following the purchase, the director owned 4,844 shares in the company, valued at approximately $260,122.80. This represents a 7.14% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link.

Bankwell Financial Group Price Performance

BWFG stock traded up $0.97 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $54.97. The company had a trading volume of 5,166 shares, compared to its average volume of 36,974. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42, a current ratio of 1.05 and a quick ratio of 1.05. Bankwell Financial Group, Inc. has a 1 year low of $33.85 and a 1 year high of $55.68. The company has a market capitalization of $438.11 million, a P/E ratio of 11.04 and a beta of 0.62. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $51.55 and a 200-day moving average price of $48.96.

Bankwell Financial Group (NASDAQ:BWFG) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 22nd. The bank reported $1.41 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.23 by $0.18. Bankwell Financial Group had a net margin of 18.71% and a return on equity of 13.31%. The business had revenue of $30.23 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $30.47 million. On average, research analysts anticipate that Bankwell Financial Group, Inc. will post 5.35 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Bankwell Financial Group Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, May 19th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 8th were issued a $0.20 dividend. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.5%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 8th. Bankwell Financial Group’s payout ratio is presently 16.06%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Bankwell Financial Group

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in BWFG. Empowered Funds LLC raised its holdings in Bankwell Financial Group by 3.4% during the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 21,262 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $642,000 after buying an additional 702 shares during the last quarter. Jane Street Group LLC bought a new stake in Bankwell Financial Group during the 1st quarter valued at $250,000. Strs Ohio bought a new stake in Bankwell Financial Group during the 1st quarter valued at $148,000. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Bankwell Financial Group by 5.4% during the 2nd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 159,384 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $5,744,000 after buying an additional 8,178 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Rhumbline Advisers raised its holdings in Bankwell Financial Group by 15.2% during the 2nd quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 10,119 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $365,000 after buying an additional 1,335 shares during the last quarter. 35.80% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on BWFG shares. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Bankwell Financial Group from a “buy (b)” rating to a “buy (b+)” rating in a research note on Monday, May 11th. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Bankwell Financial Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Sunday, May 3rd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Bankwell Financial Group currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $52.00.

About Bankwell Financial Group

Bankwell Financial Group, Inc is a bank holding company headquartered in New Canaan, Connecticut, and serves as the parent company of Bankwell Bank. Bankwell Bank provides commercial, business and personal banking services, with branch locations primarily across Fairfield and New Haven counties in Connecticut, along with a New York presence.

The company’s deposit offerings include checking, savings and money market accounts, as well as certificates of deposit, all supported by an online and mobile banking platform for convenient account access.