Lawrence Seidman Buys 5,266 Shares of Bankwell Financial Group (NASDAQ:BWFG) Stock

Bankwell Financial Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:BWFG) Director Lawrence Seidman acquired 5,266 shares of Bankwell Financial Group stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 8th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $66.94 per share, with a total value of $352,506.04. Following the transaction, the director owned 225,640 shares in the company, valued at $15,104,341.60. This represents a 2.39% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link.

Bankwell Financial Group Stock Up 1.4%

Shares of NASDAQ:BWFG opened at $67.65 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.03, a quick ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $64.37 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $56.02. Bankwell Financial Group, Inc. has a 12-month low of $40.44 and a 12-month high of $69.59. The stock has a market capitalization of $539.17 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.64 and a beta of 0.58.

Bankwell Financial Group (NASDAQ:BWFG) last released its earnings results on Thursday, July 23rd. The bank reported $1.52 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.29 by $0.23. The firm had revenue of $32.78 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $30.63 million. Bankwell Financial Group had a return on equity of 13.94% and a net margin of 19.80%. On average, research analysts anticipate that Bankwell Financial Group, Inc. will post 5.7 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Bankwell Financial Group Dividend Announcement

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

Trending Headlines about Bankwell Financial Group

Here are the key news stories impacting Bankwell Financial Group this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Director Lawrence Seidman purchased 5,266 shares for approximately $352,506, increasing his stake by 2.39%. The sizable purchase may signal confidence in BWFG’s valuation and outlook. SEC filing
• Positive Sentiment: Four additional directors—Carl Porto, Blake Drexler, Jeffrey Dunne and Eric Dale—bought a combined 1,234 shares for approximately $82,814 at prices near $67.11. The coordinated purchases reinforce the positive insider-buying signal. Insider trading article
• Neutral Sentiment: Reported short interest was zero shares as of September 10, unchanged from the prior reported total of zero. The resulting 0.0-day short-interest ratio suggests limited short-selling activity, although the report’s stated percentage change is not meaningful because both figures are zero.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

BWFG has been the topic of several analyst reports. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Bankwell Financial Group from a “buy (b)” rating to a “buy (b+)” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 13th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price target on shares of Bankwell Financial Group from $62.00 to $72.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 28th. Hovde Group upped their price objective on Bankwell Financial Group from $51.00 to $63.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Monday, July 27th. Finally, Zacks Research upgraded Bankwell Financial Group from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, July 27th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have issued a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $67.50.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Bankwell Financial Group

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Russell Investments Group Ltd. increased its holdings in 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 last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc purchased a new position in shares of Bankwell Financial Group during the 2nd quarter worth $37,000. BNP Paribas Financial Markets boosted its stake in shares of Bankwell Financial Group by 38.8% during the 2nd quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 1,124 shares of the bank’s stock worth $40,000 after acquiring an additional 314 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Bankwell Financial Group during the 2nd quarter valued at $63,000. Finally, Tower Research Capital LLC TRC grew its position in shares of Bankwell Financial Group by 523.4% during the 2nd quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 1,995 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $72,000 after acquiring an additional 1,675 shares during the period. 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.