Bankwell Financial Group (NASDAQ:BWFG) Stock Rating Upgraded by Zacks Research

Bankwell Financial Group (NASDAQ:BWFG) was upgraded by Zacks Research from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report released on Monday, Zacks reports.

Several other brokerages have also commented on BWFG. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $79.00 price objective (up from $72.00) on shares of Bankwell Financial Group in a report on Friday, October 30th. Hovde Group increased their target price on Bankwell Financial Group from $51.00 to $63.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Monday, July 27th. Finally, Weiss Ratings cut Bankwell Financial Group from a “buy (a)” rating to a “buy (a-)” rating in a research report on Monday, October 26th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has assigned a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $71.00.

Bankwell Financial Group Trading Down 1.7%

Shares of BWFG stock opened at $71.68 on Monday. The company has a current ratio of 1.03, a quick ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31. Bankwell Financial Group has a 12-month low of $42.67 and a 12-month high of $73.56. The stock has a market capitalization of $571.29 million, a P/E ratio of 12.89 and a beta of 0.58. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $66.63 and its 200 day moving average is $57.11.

Bankwell Financial Group (NASDAQ:BWFG) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, October 29th. The bank reported $1.58 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.44 by $0.14. The business had revenue of $35.33 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $33.33 million. Bankwell Financial Group had a net margin of 20.49% and a return on equity of 14.58%. Research analysts expect that Bankwell Financial Group will post 6.12 earnings per share for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Lawrence Seidman acquired 5,266 shares of Bankwell Financial Group stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 8th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $66.94 per share, for a total transaction of $352,506.04. Following the purchase, the director directly owned 225,640 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $15,104,341.60. This trade represents a 2.39% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Eric Dale bought 530 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 8th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $67.11 per share, for a total transaction of $35,568.30. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director owned 43,026 shares in the company, valued at $2,887,474.86. This trade represents a 1.25% increase in their position. Additional details regarding this purchase are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last three months, insiders have bought 19,040 shares of company stock valued at $1,269,057. Insiders own 20.98% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in BWFG. Legal & General Group Plc purchased a new position in Bankwell Financial Group during the second quarter valued at approximately $37,000. State of Alaska Department of Revenue increased its stake in shares of Bankwell Financial Group by 69.7% in the third quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue now owns 728 shares of the bank’s stock worth $46,000 after purchasing an additional 299 shares in the last quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. purchased a new stake in shares of Bankwell Financial Group in the third quarter worth $49,000. Assetmark Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Bankwell Financial Group during the 1st quarter valued at $146,000. Finally, Engineers Gate Manager LP bought a new stake in shares of Bankwell Financial Group during the 2nd quarter valued at $211,000. Institutional investors own 35.80% of the company’s stock.

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.