Bankwell Financial Group (NASDAQ:BWFG) Director Eric Dale Acquires 530 Shares of Stock

Bankwell Financial Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:BWFG) Director Eric Dale acquired 530 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 8th. The shares were bought at an average price of $67.11 per share, for a total transaction of $35,568.30. Following the acquisition, the director directly owned 43,026 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,887,474.86. This trade represents a 1.25% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link.

Bankwell Financial Group Stock Performance

Shares of BWFG opened at $66.71 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31, a current ratio of 1.03 and a quick ratio of 1.03. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $64.19 and a 200-day moving average of $55.88. The company has a market cap of $531.68 million, a PE ratio of 12.47 and a beta of 0.58. Bankwell Financial Group, Inc. has a one year low of $40.44 and a one year high of $69.59.

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

Bankwell Financial Group Announces Dividend

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

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Bankwell Financial Group

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Russell Investments Group Ltd. boosted its holdings in Bankwell Financial Group by 585.0% during the 3rd quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 685 shares of the bank’s stock worth $30,000 after acquiring an additional 585 shares during the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc purchased a new stake in shares of Bankwell Financial Group in the second quarter valued at about $37,000. BNP Paribas Financial Markets lifted its position 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 purchasing an additional 314 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in shares of Bankwell Financial Group during the second quarter valued at about $63,000. Finally, Tower Research Capital LLC TRC boosted its holdings 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. Institutional investors own 35.80% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

More Bankwell Financial Group News

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

• Positive Sentiment: Director Lawrence Seidman purchased 5,266 shares at an average price of $66.94, investing approximately $352,506 and increasing his position by 2.39%. SEC filing
• Positive Sentiment: Directors Carl Porto, Blake Drexler, Jeffrey Dunne and Eric Dale also bought shares at approximately $67.11 each. Their purchases totaled 1,234 shares, or roughly $82,814, further reinforcing the positive insider-buying signal. Carl Porto SEC filing Blake Drexler SEC filing Jeffrey Dunne SEC filing Eric Dale SEC filing

Bankwell Financial Group Company Profile

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.