Renaissance Technologies LLC Trims Stake in Bankwell Financial Group, Inc. $BWFG

Renaissance Technologies LLC lessened its holdings in Bankwell Financial Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:BWFG) by 7.4% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 107,548 shares of the bank’s stock after selling 8,607 shares during the period. Renaissance Technologies LLC’s holdings in Bankwell Financial Group were worth $5,218,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Russell Investments Group Ltd. increased its position in shares of Bankwell Financial Group by 585.0% during the third quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 685 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 585 shares during the last quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets lifted its holdings 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 worth $40,000 after acquiring an additional 314 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Bankwell Financial Group in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $63,000. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC boosted its position in shares of Bankwell Financial Group by 523.4% during the 2nd 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 period. Finally, Assetmark Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Bankwell Financial Group during the 1st quarter worth approximately $146,000. 35.80% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on BWFG. Wall Street Zen cut Bankwell Financial Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Sunday, May 3rd. Weiss Ratings cut Bankwell Financial Group from a “buy (b+)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a report on Wednesday, June 24th. Hovde Group lifted their target price on 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. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price target 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. Finally, Zacks Research raised shares of Bankwell Financial Group from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, July 27th. One 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 company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $67.50.

Bankwell Financial Group Stock Performance

NASDAQ:BWFG opened at $67.22 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $535.95 million, a PE ratio of 12.56 and a beta of 0.59. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $58.62 and its 200 day moving average price is $52.70. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42, a current ratio of 1.05 and a quick ratio of 1.05. Bankwell Financial Group, Inc. has a 12 month low of $38.89 and a 12 month high of $69.59.

Bankwell Financial Group (NASDAQ:BWFG) last released its quarterly earnings data 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. Bankwell Financial Group had a net margin of 19.80% and a return on equity of 14.19%. The company had revenue of $32.78 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $30.63 million. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Bankwell Financial Group, Inc. will post 5.7 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Bankwell Financial Group Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Bankwell Financial Group

In other Bankwell Financial Group news, insider Ryan Jason Hildebrand sold 2,246 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, July 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $66.74, for a total transaction of $149,898.04. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Todd Lampert sold 3,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, June 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $53.59, for a total value of $187,565.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 12,366 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $662,693.94. This represents a 22.06% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last three months, insiders have acquired 7,156 shares of company stock worth $370,525 and have sold 6,834 shares worth $401,089. Company insiders own 20.98% of the company’s stock.

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.