Bankwell Financial Group (NASDAQ:BWFG) Rating Increased to Strong-Buy at Zacks Research

Zacks Research upgraded shares of Bankwell Financial Group (NASDAQ:BWFG) from a hold rating to a strong-buy rating in a report released on Monday morning,Zacks.com reports.

A number of other analysts have also recently weighed in on the company. Wall Street Zen cut Bankwell Financial Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Sunday, May 3rd. Weiss Ratings lowered Bankwell Financial Group from a “buy (b+)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 24th. Hovde Group increased their price target on Bankwell Financial Group from $51.00 to $63.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Monday. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price target on Bankwell Financial Group from $62.00 to $72.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have given a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Bankwell Financial Group has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $67.50.

Bankwell Financial Group Trading Up 3.9%

NASDAQ:BWFG opened at $66.86 on Monday. Bankwell Financial Group has a 52 week low of $38.25 and a 52 week high of $67.02. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $56.78 and a 200 day moving average of $51.83. The company has a quick ratio of 1.05, a current ratio of 1.05 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42. The stock has a market capitalization of $532.87 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.50 and a beta of 0.61.

Bankwell Financial Group (NASDAQ:BWFG) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, July 23rd. The bank reported $1.52 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.29 by $0.23. The company had revenue of $32.78 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $30.63 million. Bankwell Financial Group had a net margin of 19.80% and a return on equity of 14.19%. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Bankwell Financial Group will post 5.7 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Bankwell Financial Group Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 21st. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 10th will be issued a $0.20 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, August 10th. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.2%. Bankwell Financial Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 14.95%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Bankwell Financial Group

In other news, insider Ryan Jason Hildebrand sold 1,088 shares of Bankwell Financial Group stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $58.48, for a total transaction of $63,626.24. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 2,246 shares in the company, valued at approximately $131,346.08. The trade was a 32.63% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Christine Chivily sold 4,321 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, May 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $52.16, for a total transaction of $225,383.36. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 11,865 shares in the company, valued at $618,878.40. This trade represents a 26.70% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last ninety days, insiders acquired 7,156 shares of company stock valued at $370,525 and sold 8,909 shares valued at $476,575. 20.98% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Bankwell Financial Group

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in BWFG. Barclays PLC raised its stake in shares of Bankwell Financial Group by 1.3% in the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 24,040 shares of the bank’s stock worth $1,064,000 after purchasing an additional 307 shares during the last quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets boosted 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 buying an additional 314 shares during the last quarter. GM Advisory Group LLC boosted 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 buying an additional 439 shares during the last quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. increased its holdings in Bankwell Financial Group by 585.0% in the 3rd quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 685 shares of the bank’s stock worth $30,000 after buying an additional 585 shares during the period. Finally, Empowered Funds LLC increased its holdings in Bankwell Financial Group by 3.4% in the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 21,262 shares of the bank’s stock worth $642,000 after buying an additional 702 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 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.