Eric Dale Acquires 588 Shares of Bankwell Financial Group (NASDAQ:BWFG) Stock

Bankwell Financial Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:BWFG) Director Eric Dale purchased 588 shares of Bankwell Financial Group stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 5th. The stock was bought at an average price of $53.70 per share, with a total value of $31,575.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 42,496 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,282,035.20. This represents a 1.40% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink.

Bankwell Financial Group Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ BWFG opened at $55.75 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $444.49 million, a PE ratio of 11.19 and a beta of 0.62. Bankwell Financial Group, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $33.85 and a fifty-two week high of $56.40. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42, a quick ratio of 1.05 and a current ratio of 1.05. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $51.86 and a 200-day moving average of $49.12.

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

Bankwell Financial Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, May 19th. Investors of record on Friday, May 8th were paid a dividend of $0.20 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 8th. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.4%. Bankwell Financial Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 16.06%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Bankwell Financial Group

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Russell Investments Group Ltd. boosted its holdings in shares of Bankwell Financial Group by 585.0% in the 3rd quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 685 shares of the bank’s stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 585 shares in the last quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets boosted its holdings in shares of Bankwell Financial Group by 38.8% in the 2nd quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 1,124 shares of the bank’s stock worth $40,000 after purchasing an additional 314 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Bankwell Financial Group in the 2nd quarter worth about $63,000. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC boosted its holdings in shares of Bankwell Financial Group by 523.4% in the 2nd quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 1,995 shares of the bank’s stock worth $72,000 after purchasing an additional 1,675 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Assetmark Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Bankwell Financial Group in the 1st quarter worth about $146,000. 35.80% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms recently issued reports on BWFG. Wall Street Zen lowered Bankwell Financial Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Sunday, May 3rd. Weiss Ratings raised Bankwell Financial Group from a “buy (b)” rating to a “buy (b+)” rating in a research note on Monday, May 11th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Bankwell Financial Group has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price 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.