Insider Buying: Bankwell Financial Group (NASDAQ:BWFG) Director Purchases $117,936.00 in Stock

Bankwell Financial Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:BWFG) Director Lawrence Seidman acquired 2,520 shares of Bankwell Financial Group stock in a transaction on Friday, February 27th. The shares were bought at an average price of $46.80 per share, for a total transaction of $117,936.00. Following the purchase, the director owned 200,244 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,371,419.20. This represents a 1.27% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website.

Bankwell Financial Group Stock Down 2.9%

Shares of NASDAQ BWFG opened at $47.03 on Monday. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $47.88 and its 200-day simple moving average is $45.59. Bankwell Financial Group, Inc. has a 1 year low of $26.39 and a 1 year high of $51.54. The firm has a market cap of $370.56 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.59 and a beta of 0.67. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49, a quick ratio of 1.07 and a current ratio of 1.07.

Bankwell Financial Group (NASDAQ:BWFG) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 29th. The bank reported $1.15 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.20 by ($0.05). Bankwell Financial Group had a net margin of 16.94% and a return on equity of 12.40%. The firm had revenue of $30.32 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $28.06 million.

Bankwell Financial Group Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 20th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 10th were issued a dividend of $0.20 per share. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 10th. Bankwell Financial Group’s payout ratio is 18.02%.

Institutional Trading of Bankwell Financial Group

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Ameritas Investment Partners Inc. increased its holdings in Bankwell Financial Group by 70.7% in the 2nd quarter. Ameritas Investment Partners Inc. now owns 722 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 299 shares during the period. Russell Investments Group Ltd. raised its stake in Bankwell Financial Group by 585.0% during the third quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 685 shares of the bank’s stock worth $30,000 after acquiring an additional 585 shares in the last quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets lifted its holdings in shares of Bankwell Financial Group by 38.8% during the second quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 1,124 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $40,000 after acquiring an additional 314 shares during the period. CWM LLC boosted its stake in shares of Bankwell Financial Group by 71.8% in the 3rd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 1,041 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $46,000 after purchasing an additional 435 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Police & Firemen s Retirement System of New Jersey bought a new stake in Bankwell Financial Group during the second quarter worth about $50,000. 35.80% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have commented on BWFG. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price target on shares of Bankwell Financial Group from $53.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, February 2nd. Hovde Group raised their price objective on Bankwell Financial Group from $48.00 to $49.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Monday, February 2nd. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Bankwell Financial Group in a report on Monday, December 29th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $52.00.

About Bankwell Financial Group

Bankwell Financial Group, Inc is a bank holding company headquartered in Westchester, Illinois, and serves as the parent of Bankwell Bank. Through its subsidiary, the company provides a full suite of banking products and services designed for both individual consumers and small‐ to mid‐sized businesses. Bankwell Bank operates multiple branches across suburban Cook and Lake counties, focusing on personalized service and local decision‐making.

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.