Bankwell Financial Group (NASDAQ:BWFG) Stock Rating Lowered by Wall Street Zen

Wall Street Zen cut shares of Bankwell Financial Group (NASDAQ:BWFG) from a strong-buy rating to a buy rating in a report issued on Monday.

Several other equities analysts have also recently weighed in on BWFG. Raymond James Financial assumed coverage on shares of Bankwell Financial Group in a research report on Thursday, June 26th. They set a “market perform” rating on the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price objective on shares of Bankwell Financial Group from $40.00 to $42.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, April 28th. Finally, Hovde Group lifted their price objective on shares of Bankwell Financial Group from $38.50 to $42.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 29th.

Bankwell Financial Group Trading Up 1.1%

Bankwell Financial Group stock opened at $41.17 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51, a quick ratio of 1.06 and a current ratio of 1.06. The firm has a market cap of $324.01 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.96 and a beta of 0.71. Bankwell Financial Group has a 1 year low of $25.70 and a 1 year high of $41.46. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $37.36 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $33.52.

Bankwell Financial Group (NASDAQ:BWFG) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, July 28th. The bank reported $1.15 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.87 by $0.28. Bankwell Financial Group had a net margin of 10.27% and a return on equity of 7.44%. The firm had revenue of $47.14 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $24.20 million.

Bankwell Financial Group Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 22nd. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 11th will be issued a dividend of $0.20 per share. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.9%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, August 11th. Bankwell Financial Group’s payout ratio is currently 31.01%.

Insider Activity at Bankwell Financial Group

In other news, insider Ryan Jason Hildebrand sold 2,051 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, August 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $39.69, for a total transaction of $81,404.19. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 3,334 shares in the company, valued at $132,326.46. The trade was a 38.09% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. In the last 90 days, insiders have acquired 1,306 shares of company stock worth $46,585 and have sold 3,722 shares worth $142,892. 19.48% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Bankwell Financial Group

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Ameritas Investment Partners Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Bankwell Financial Group by 70.7% during the 2nd quarter. Ameritas Investment Partners Inc. now owns 722 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 299 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its holdings in shares of Bankwell Financial Group by 3,002.9% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,086 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $36,000 after acquiring an additional 1,051 shares in the last quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC grew its holdings in shares of 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 valued at $49,000 after acquiring an additional 1,357 shares in the last quarter. Police & Firemen s Retirement System of New Jersey purchased a new position in shares of Bankwell Financial Group during the 2nd quarter valued at $50,000. Finally, Deutsche Bank AG purchased a new position in shares of Bankwell Financial Group during the 4th quarter valued at $104,000. 35.80% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.