Insider Buying: Bankwell Financial Group (NASDAQ:BWFG) Director Acquires $17,345.10 in Stock

Bankwell Financial Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:BWFG) Director Lawrence Seidman acquired 323 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 5th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $53.70 per share, for a total transaction of $17,345.10. Following the acquisition, the director owned 4,844 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $260,122.80. This represents a 7.14% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink.

Bankwell Financial Group Stock Performance

Shares of BWFG opened at $55.15 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.05, a quick ratio of 1.05 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42. The stock has a market cap of $439.55 million, a P/E ratio of 11.07 and a beta of 0.62. The company has a 50-day moving average of $51.99 and a two-hundred day moving average of $49.19. Bankwell Financial Group, Inc. has a 12-month low of $33.85 and a 12-month high of $56.40.

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

Bankwell Financial Group Announces Dividend

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

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Bankwell Financial Group

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Russell Investments Group Ltd. lifted its stake in shares of Bankwell Financial Group by 585.0% during the third quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 685 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $30,000 after buying an additional 585 shares during the period. BNP Paribas Financial Markets lifted its stake 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 buying an additional 314 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Bankwell Financial Group during the second quarter valued at approximately $63,000. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC increased its position in Bankwell Financial Group by 523.4% during the second quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 1,995 shares of the bank’s stock worth $72,000 after purchasing an additional 1,675 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Assetmark Inc. acquired a new position in Bankwell Financial Group during the first quarter worth approximately $146,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 35.80% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have issued reports on BWFG. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Bankwell Financial Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Sunday, May 3rd. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Bankwell Financial Group from a “buy (b)” rating to a “buy (b+)” rating in a research report on Monday, May 11th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Bankwell Financial Group currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average 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.