Bankwell Financial Group (NASDAQ:BWFG) Sees Strong Trading Volume – Still a Buy?

Bankwell Financial Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:BWFG) saw strong trading volume on Friday . Approximately 29,987 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 41% from the previous session’s volume of 50,713 shares.The stock last traded at $68.17 and had previously closed at $68.00.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have weighed in on BWFG. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price target on shares of Bankwell Financial Group from $62.00 to $72.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 28th. 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. Hovde Group raised their price objective on shares of Bankwell Financial Group from $51.00 to $63.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report 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 cut shares of Bankwell Financial Group from a “buy (b+)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 24th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have issued a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Bankwell Financial Group currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $67.50.

Bankwell Financial Group Price Performance

The firm has a 50-day moving average of $60.43 and a 200-day moving average of $53.52. The stock has a market cap of $548.80 million, a PE ratio of 12.82 and a beta of 0.59. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31, a current ratio of 1.03 and a quick ratio of 1.03.

Bankwell Financial Group (NASDAQ:BWFG) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 23rd. The bank reported $1.52 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.29 by $0.23. Bankwell Financial Group had a return on equity of 13.94% and a net margin of 19.80%.The company had revenue of $32.78 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $30.63 million. Research analysts predict that Bankwell Financial Group, Inc. will post 5.7 EPS for the current year.

Bankwell Financial Group Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 21st. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 10th will be given a dividend of $0.20 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, August 10th. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.2%. Bankwell Financial Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 14.95%.

Insider Activity at Bankwell Financial Group

In related news, Director Lawrence B. Seidman bought 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 7th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $66.63 per share, for a total transaction of $666,300.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 222,690 shares in the company, valued at $14,837,834.70. The trade was a 4.70% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Ryan Jason Hildebrand sold 2,246 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, July 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $66.74, for a total transaction of $149,898.04. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last ninety days, insiders bought 15,056 shares of company stock worth $931,626 and sold 6,834 shares worth $401,089. 20.98% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Russell Investments Group Ltd. grew its position in shares of Bankwell Financial Group by 585.0% during 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 in the last quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets lifted its position in shares of Bankwell Financial Group by 38.8% in the second quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 1,124 shares of the bank’s stock worth $40,000 after buying an additional 314 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in Bankwell Financial Group during the second quarter valued at approximately $63,000. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC boosted its stake in Bankwell Financial Group by 523.4% during the second quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 1,995 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $72,000 after buying an additional 1,675 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Assetmark Inc. purchased a new position in Bankwell Financial Group during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $146,000. 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.