Bankwell Financial Group (NASDAQ:BWFG) Price Target Raised to $42.00

Bankwell Financial Group (NASDAQ:BWFG) had its price target raised by Hovde Group from $38.50 to $42.00 in a report published on Tuesday morning, Marketbeat.com reports. Hovde Group currently has a market perform rating on the bank’s stock.

Several other brokerages have also issued reports on BWFG. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price target on shares of Bankwell Financial Group from $40.00 to $42.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, April 28th. Raymond James Financial began coverage on Bankwell Financial Group in a report on Thursday, June 26th. They set a “market perform” rating on the stock. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded Bankwell Financial Group from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, July 26th.

Bankwell Financial Group Price Performance

Shares of Bankwell Financial Group stock opened at $39.90 on Tuesday. Bankwell Financial Group has a 1-year low of $24.83 and a 1-year high of $41.13. The stock has a market capitalization of $314.01 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.47 and a beta of 0.66. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $36.31 and a 200-day simple moving average of $32.82. The company has a current ratio of 1.05, a quick ratio of 1.05 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40.

Bankwell Financial Group (NASDAQ:BWFG) last released its earnings results on Monday, July 28th. The bank reported $1.15 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.87 by $0.28. The business had revenue of $47.14 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $24.20 million. Bankwell Financial Group had a return on equity of 7.52% and a net margin of 10.27%.

Bankwell Financial Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 22nd. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 11th will be paid a $0.20 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, August 11th. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.0%. Bankwell Financial Group’s payout ratio is currently 31.01%.

Insider Activity at Bankwell Financial Group

In related news, insider Ryan Jason Hildebrand sold 1,282 shares of Bankwell Financial Group stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $36.86, for a total value of $47,254.52. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 2,051 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $75,599.86. The trade was a 38.46% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Insiders acquired a total of 1,306 shares of company stock worth $46,585 in the last quarter. 19.48% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Bankwell Financial Group

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in BWFG. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its stake in shares of Bankwell Financial Group by 3,002.9% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,086 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $36,000 after purchasing an additional 1,051 shares during the last quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC lifted its holdings in Bankwell Financial Group by 655.6% during the 4th quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 1,564 shares of the bank’s stock worth $49,000 after buying an additional 1,357 shares in the last quarter. Deutsche Bank AG bought a new position in Bankwell Financial Group in the 4th quarter valued at $104,000. Strs Ohio bought a new position in Bankwell Financial Group in the 1st quarter valued at $148,000. Finally, Trexquant Investment LP acquired a new stake in shares of Bankwell Financial Group in the 1st quarter valued at $204,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 35.80% of the company’s stock.

About Bankwell Financial Group

Bankwell Financial Group, Inc operates as the bank holding company for Bankwell Bank that provides various banking services for individual and commercial customers. It offers various traditional depository products, including checking, savings, money market, and certificates of deposit. The company also provides first mortgage loans secured by one-to-four family owner occupied residential properties for personal use; home equity loans and home equity lines of credit secured by owner occupied one-to-four family residential properties; loans secured by commercial real estate, multi-family dwellings, owner-occupied commercial real estate, and investor-owned one-to-four family dwellings; commercial construction loans for commercial development projects, including apartment buildings and condominiums, as well as office buildings, retail, and other income producing properties; land loans; commercial business loans secured by assignments of corporate assets and personal guarantees of the business owners; loans to finance insurance premiums; overdraft lines of credit; and unsecured personal loans.