Bankwell Financial Group (NASDAQ:BWFG) Director Eric Dale Buys 588 Shares

Bankwell Financial Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:BWFG) Director Eric Dale bought 588 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, June 5th. The shares were bought at an average price of $53.70 per share, for a total transaction of $31,575.60. Following the acquisition, the director owned 42,496 shares in the company, valued at $2,282,035.20. The trade was a 1.40% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink.

Bankwell Financial Group Trading Up 1.8%

Shares of Bankwell Financial Group stock traded up $0.97 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $54.97. 5,166 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 36,974. Bankwell Financial Group, Inc. has a 52-week low of $33.85 and a 52-week high of $55.68. The firm has a market capitalization of $438.11 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.04 and a beta of 0.62. The company has a fifty day moving average of $51.55 and a 200-day moving average of $48.96. The company has a current ratio of 1.05, a quick ratio of 1.05 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42.

Bankwell Financial Group (NASDAQ:BWFG) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 22nd. The bank reported $1.41 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.23 by $0.18. Bankwell Financial Group had a return on equity of 13.31% and a net margin of 18.71%.The company had revenue of $30.23 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $30.47 million. Sell-side analysts forecast that Bankwell Financial Group, Inc. will post 5.35 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Bankwell Financial Group Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, May 19th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 8th were paid a dividend of $0.20 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 8th. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.5%. Bankwell Financial Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 16.06%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in BWFG. Barclays PLC raised its position in Bankwell Financial Group by 1.3% in the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 24,040 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $1,064,000 after purchasing an additional 307 shares during the period. BNP Paribas Financial Markets raised its position in Bankwell Financial Group by 38.8% in the second quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 1,124 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $40,000 after purchasing an additional 314 shares during the period. GM Advisory Group LLC raised its position in Bankwell Financial Group by 0.4% in the first quarter. GM Advisory Group LLC now owns 106,498 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $5,167,000 after purchasing an additional 439 shares during the period. Russell Investments Group Ltd. raised its position in Bankwell Financial Group by 585.0% in 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 during the period. Finally, Empowered Funds LLC raised its position in Bankwell Financial Group by 3.4% in the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 21,262 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $642,000 after purchasing an additional 702 shares during the period. 35.80% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on BWFG shares. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Bankwell Financial Group from a “buy (b)” rating to a “buy (b+)” rating in a research note on Monday, May 11th. Wall Street Zen lowered Bankwell Financial Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Sunday, May 3rd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $52.00.

About Bankwell Financial Group

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.