Short Interest in Bankwell Financial Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:BWFG) Drops By 9.4%

Bankwell Financial Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:BWFG) was the recipient of a large decrease in short interest during the month of September. As of September 30th, there was short interest totalling 98,300 shares, a decrease of 9.4% from the September 15th total of 108,500 shares. Approximately 1.7% of the shares of the stock are sold short. Based on an average trading volume of 15,700 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 6.3 days.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Separately, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $34.00 price objective on shares of Bankwell Financial Group in a research report on Wednesday.

Bankwell Financial Group Trading Up 0.7 %

Bankwell Financial Group stock traded up $0.21 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $30.05. The stock had a trading volume of 11,102 shares, compared to its average volume of 13,345. The company has a quick ratio of 1.06, a current ratio of 1.06 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60. The firm has a market cap of $237.33 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.83 and a beta of 0.83. Bankwell Financial Group has a 52-week low of $22.47 and a 52-week high of $31.09. The company has a fifty day moving average of $28.88 and a 200 day moving average of $26.15.

Bankwell Financial Group (NASDAQ:BWFG) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 24th. The bank reported $0.14 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.10 by $0.04. Bankwell Financial Group had a return on equity of 8.76% and a net margin of 11.76%. The firm had revenue of $48.36 million for the quarter.

Bankwell Financial Group Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 23rd. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 12th were paid a dividend of $0.20 per share. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.66%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 12th. Bankwell Financial Group’s dividend payout ratio is currently 20.83%.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Christine Chivily sold 1,815 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $27.88, for a total value of $50,602.20. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 14,449 shares in the company, valued at approximately $402,838.12. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In related news, Director Kevin D. Leitao acquired 2,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 29th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $26.83 per share, with a total value of $67,075.00. Following the purchase, the director now directly owns 2,500 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $67,075. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Christine Chivily sold 1,815 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $27.88, for a total value of $50,602.20. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 14,449 shares in the company, valued at approximately $402,838.12. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders bought 2,691 shares of company stock worth $72,620. 19.20% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in Bankwell Financial Group by 0.6% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 329,246 shares of the bank’s stock worth $8,541,000 after acquiring an additional 1,933 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its stake in Bankwell Financial Group by 0.3% in the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 279,867 shares of the bank’s stock worth $7,100,000 after purchasing an additional 755 shares in the last quarter. GM Advisory Group LLC increased its holdings in Bankwell Financial Group by 7.7% during the 2nd quarter. GM Advisory Group LLC now owns 89,154 shares of the bank’s stock worth $2,262,000 after purchasing an additional 6,341 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its holdings in Bankwell Financial Group by 6.2% during the 2nd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 28,548 shares of the bank’s stock worth $724,000 after purchasing an additional 1,676 shares during the period. Finally, Empowered Funds LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Bankwell Financial Group by 7.6% in the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 17,444 shares of the bank’s stock worth $452,000 after buying an additional 1,225 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 35.80% of the company’s stock.

About Bankwell Financial Group

Bankwell Financial Group, Inc operates as the bank holding company for Bankwell Bank that provides various banking services for individual and commercial customers. It offers various traditional depository products, including checking, savings, money market, and certificates of deposit. The company also provides first mortgage loans secured by one-to-four family owner occupied residential properties for personal use; home equity loans and home equity lines of credit secured by owner occupied one-to-four family residential properties; loans secured by commercial real estate, multi-family dwellings, owner-occupied commercial real estate, and investor-owned one-to-four family dwellings; commercial construction loans for commercial development projects, including apartment buildings and condominiums, as well as office buildings, retail, and other income producing properties; land loans; commercial business loans secured by assignments of corporate assets and personal guarantees of the business owners; loans to finance insurance premiums; overdraft lines of credit; and unsecured personal loans.