Insider Buying: Bankwell Financial Group (NASDAQ:BWFG) Director Purchases $352,506.04 in Stock

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

Bankwell Financial Group Trading Up 1.4%

Shares of NASDAQ BWFG opened at $68.57 on Friday. Bankwell Financial Group, Inc. has a one year low of $40.44 and a one year high of $69.59. The firm has a market capitalization of $546.50 million, a PE ratio of 12.82 and a beta of 0.58. 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 business has a 50-day moving average price of $64.57 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $56.10.

Bankwell Financial Group (NASDAQ:BWFG) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, July 23rd. The bank reported $1.52 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.29 by $0.23. The company 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%. As a group, analysts predict that Bankwell Financial Group, Inc. will post 5.7 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Bankwell Financial Group Announces Dividend

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have issued reports on BWFG. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their target price on shares of Bankwell Financial Group from $62.00 to $72.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 28th. 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 increased their price objective on Bankwell Financial Group from $51.00 to $63.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Monday, July 27th. Finally, Zacks Research raised Bankwell Financial Group from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report 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 issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Bankwell Financial Group presently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $67.50.

Institutional Trading of Bankwell Financial Group

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Barclays PLC increased its stake in shares of Bankwell Financial Group by 1.3% during the 3rd 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 lifted its stake in shares of Bankwell Financial Group by 38.8% in the 2nd 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 during the last quarter. Corient Private Wealth LP lifted its stake in shares of Bankwell Financial Group by 1.5% in the 2nd quarter. Corient Private Wealth LP now owns 22,223 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $1,306,000 after purchasing an additional 320 shares during the last quarter. GM Advisory Group LLC boosted its holdings 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 worth $5,167,000 after purchasing an additional 439 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Russell Investments Group Ltd. boosted its holdings in Bankwell Financial Group by 585.0% in the third quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 685 shares of the bank’s stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 585 shares in the last quarter. 35.80% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.