Insider Buying: Bankwell Financial Group (NASDAQ:BWFG) Director Acquires 327 Shares

Bankwell Financial Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:BWFG) Director Carl Porto bought 327 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 8th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $67.11 per share, with a total value of $21,944.97. Following the completion of the purchase, the director owned 22,397 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,503,062.67. This represents a 1.48% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link.

Bankwell Financial Group Trading Down 1.8%

BWFG opened at $66.16 on Wednesday. Bankwell Financial Group, Inc. has a 1-year low of $40.44 and a 1-year high of $69.59. The stock has a market capitalization of $527.30 million, a PE ratio of 12.37 and a beta of 0.58. The company has a current ratio of 1.03, a quick ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $64.06 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $55.75.

Bankwell Financial Group (NASDAQ:BWFG) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 23rd. The bank reported $1.52 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.29 by $0.23. The business had revenue of $32.78 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $30.63 million. Bankwell Financial Group had a net margin of 19.80% and a return on equity of 13.94%. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Bankwell Financial Group, Inc. will post 5.7 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Bankwell Financial Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 21st. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 10th were given a dividend of $0.20 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 10th. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.2%. Bankwell Financial Group’s payout ratio is presently 14.95%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Bankwell Financial Group

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Russell Investments Group Ltd. increased its holdings in Bankwell Financial Group by 585.0% in the third quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 685 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 585 shares during the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc acquired a new position in shares of Bankwell Financial Group during the 2nd quarter worth about $37,000. BNP Paribas Financial Markets grew its position in shares of Bankwell Financial Group by 38.8% during the 2nd quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 1,124 shares of the bank’s stock worth $40,000 after buying an additional 314 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Bankwell Financial Group in the 2nd quarter valued at about $63,000. Finally, Tower Research Capital LLC TRC raised its position 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 valued at $72,000 after acquiring an additional 1,675 shares during the period. 35.80% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

BWFG has been the subject of a number of research reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price objective on Bankwell Financial Group from $62.00 to $72.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 28th. Hovde Group raised their target price on shares of Bankwell Financial Group from $51.00 to $63.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Monday, July 27th. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Bankwell Financial Group from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, July 27th. Finally, Weiss Ratings raised shares of Bankwell Financial Group from a “buy (b)” rating to a “buy (b+)” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 13th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have issued a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $67.50.

Bankwell Financial Group Company Profile

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.