Bridgeway Capital Management LLC Buys 918 Shares of Bankwell Financial Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:BWFG)

Bridgeway Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in Bankwell Financial Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:BWFG) by 1.7% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 54,765 shares of the bank’s stock after purchasing an additional 918 shares during the quarter. Bridgeway Capital Management LLC owned approximately 0.70% of Bankwell Financial Group worth $1,706,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in BWFG. GM Advisory Group LLC boosted its position in shares of Bankwell Financial Group by 0.6% in the fourth quarter. GM Advisory Group LLC now owns 90,358 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $2,815,000 after acquiring an additional 551 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of Bankwell Financial Group by 0.5% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 148,035 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $4,612,000 after purchasing an additional 693 shares in the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC increased its holdings in shares of Bankwell Financial Group by 4.7% in the fourth quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 20,560 shares of the bank’s stock worth $640,000 after purchasing an additional 918 shares during the period. Wells Fargo & Company MN raised its position in shares of Bankwell Financial Group by 9.4% in the fourth quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN now owns 11,338 shares of the bank’s stock worth $353,000 after buying an additional 975 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Barclays PLC boosted its stake in Bankwell Financial Group by 5.0% during the fourth quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 21,829 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $681,000 after buying an additional 1,048 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 35.80% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have weighed in on the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price target on Bankwell Financial Group from $40.00 to $42.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, April 28th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Bankwell Financial Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, April 25th.

Insider Buying and Selling at Bankwell Financial Group

In related news, Director Eric J. Dale acquired 875 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 6th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $30.42 per share, for a total transaction of $26,617.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 38,682 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,176,706.44. This trade represents a 2.31 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Steven H. Brunner sold 807 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $33.36, for a total value of $26,921.52. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 1,548 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $51,641.28. This trade represents a 34.27 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 19.48% of the company’s stock.

Bankwell Financial Group Price Performance

BWFG opened at $34.17 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.06, a quick ratio of 1.06 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59. The stock has a market capitalization of $269.57 million, a P/E ratio of 28.96 and a beta of 0.66. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $30.43 and a 200-day moving average price of $30.87. Bankwell Financial Group, Inc. has a 12-month low of $22.80 and a 12-month high of $35.25.

Bankwell Financial Group (NASDAQ:BWFG) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, April 23rd. The bank reported $0.87 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.73 by $0.14. The business had revenue of $23.57 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $22.63 million. Bankwell Financial Group had a return on equity of 3.48% and a net margin of 4.76%.

Bankwell Financial Group Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, May 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 9th will be paid a $0.20 dividend. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.34%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 9th. Bankwell Financial Group’s dividend payout ratio is presently 50.96%.

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.