Bankwell Financial Group (NASDAQ:BWFG) Director Lawrence Seidman Buys 5,266 Shares

Bankwell Financial Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:BWFG) Director Lawrence Seidman acquired 5,266 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 8th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $66.94 per share, with a total value of $352,506.04. Following the purchase, the director directly owned 225,640 shares in the company, valued at approximately $15,104,341.60. This represents a 2.39% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website.

Bankwell Financial Group Stock Performance

NASDAQ BWFG opened at $66.71 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.03, a current ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31. The company has a market capitalization of $531.68 million, a P/E ratio of 12.47 and a beta of 0.58. Bankwell Financial Group, Inc. has a 12-month low of $40.44 and a 12-month high of $69.59. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $64.19 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $55.88.

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

Bankwell Financial Group Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 21st. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 10th were issued a dividend of $0.20 per share. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend 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 14.95%.

Bankwell Financial Group News Summary

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts recently commented on the company. Zacks Research raised Bankwell Financial Group from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, July 27th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price objective on shares of Bankwell Financial Group from $62.00 to $72.00 and gave the stock 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 report on Thursday, August 13th. Finally, Hovde Group boosted their target price on shares of Bankwell Financial Group from $51.00 to $63.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Monday, July 27th. One research 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. Based on data from MarketBeat, Bankwell Financial Group has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $67.50.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Bankwell Financial Group

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of BWFG. Empowered Funds LLC lifted its position in shares of Bankwell Financial Group by 3.4% during the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 21,262 shares of the bank’s stock worth $642,000 after buying an additional 702 shares during the last quarter. Jane Street Group LLC bought a new position in Bankwell Financial Group in the first quarter valued at about $250,000. Strs Ohio bought a new position in Bankwell Financial Group in the first quarter valued at about $148,000. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in Bankwell Financial Group by 5.4% during the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 159,384 shares of the bank’s stock worth $5,744,000 after acquiring an additional 8,178 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Rhumbline Advisers raised its stake in Bankwell Financial Group by 15.2% during the second quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 10,119 shares of the bank’s stock worth $365,000 after acquiring an additional 1,335 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 35.80% of the company’s stock.

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.