Ryan Jason Hildebrand Sells 1,088 Shares of Bankwell Financial Group (NASDAQ:BWFG) Stock

Bankwell Financial Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:BWFG) insider Ryan Jason Hildebrand sold 1,088 shares of Bankwell Financial Group stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $58.48, for a total value of $63,626.24. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 2,246 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $131,346.08. This trade represents a 32.63% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link.

Bankwell Financial Group Trading Up 2.7%

Shares of NASDAQ:BWFG traded up $1.58 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $60.34. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 68,581 shares, compared to its average volume of 44,531. Bankwell Financial Group, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $36.22 and a fifty-two week high of $60.42. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42, a quick ratio of 1.05 and a current ratio of 1.05. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $53.44 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $50.14. The firm has a market capitalization of $480.87 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.14 and a beta of 0.62.

Bankwell Financial Group (NASDAQ:BWFG) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, April 22nd. The bank reported $1.41 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 business had revenue of $30.23 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $30.47 million. As a group, analysts forecast that Bankwell Financial Group, Inc. will post 5.35 earnings per share for the current year.

Bankwell Financial Group Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, May 19th. Investors 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 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.3%. Bankwell Financial Group’s dividend payout ratio is currently 16.06%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

BWFG has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Bankwell Financial Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Sunday, May 3rd. Weiss Ratings downgraded Bankwell Financial Group from a “buy (b+)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 24th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $52.00.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Bankwell Financial Group by 3.9% during the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 366,963 shares of the bank’s stock worth $16,238,000 after acquiring an additional 13,823 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its position in Bankwell Financial Group by 1.5% in the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 319,241 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $15,489,000 after acquiring an additional 4,795 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in Bankwell Financial Group by 5.4% during the 2nd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 159,384 shares of the bank’s stock worth $5,744,000 after purchasing an additional 8,178 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp increased its holdings in Bankwell Financial Group by 5.6% during the 4th quarter. State Street Corp now owns 115,711 shares of the bank’s stock worth $5,302,000 after purchasing an additional 6,138 shares in the last quarter. Finally, GM Advisory Group LLC raised its stake in shares of Bankwell Financial Group by 0.4% in the first quarter. GM Advisory Group LLC now owns 106,498 shares of the bank’s stock worth $5,167,000 after purchasing an additional 439 shares during the last quarter. 35.80% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.