Bridgewater Bancshares (NASDAQ:BWB) Sees Large Volume Increase – Should You Buy?

Bridgewater Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:BWB) saw an uptick in trading volume on Friday . 221,525 shares traded hands during trading, an increase of 183% from the previous session’s volume of 78,274 shares.The stock last traded at $19.8750 and had previously closed at $19.72.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on BWB shares. Weiss Ratings raised Bridgewater Bancshares from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a report on Monday, May 4th. DA Davidson reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $22.00 target price on shares of Bridgewater Bancshares in a report on Wednesday, April 22nd. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Bridgewater Bancshares presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $21.67.

Bridgewater Bancshares Price Performance

The company has a market capitalization of $556.90 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.29 and a beta of 0.58. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $18.64 and a 200-day simple moving average of $18.38. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96, a current ratio of 1.06 and a quick ratio of 1.06.

Bridgewater Bancshares (NASDAQ:BWB) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 21st. The company reported $0.41 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.42 by ($0.01). Bridgewater Bancshares had a net margin of 17.69% and a return on equity of 11.06%. The company had revenue of $38.96 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $36.93 million. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Bridgewater Bancshares, Inc. will post 1.85 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Bridgewater Bancshares news, Director Jeffrey D. Shellberg sold 20,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $18.55, for a total value of $371,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 25,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $463,750. The trade was a 44.44% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, COO Lisa M. Salazar sold 4,162 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $18.55, for a total value of $77,205.10. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer directly owned 36,077 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $669,228.35. The trade was a 10.34% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold a total of 62,375 shares of company stock valued at $1,161,104 in the last three months. 23.10% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Bridgewater Bancshares

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. NewEdge Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Bridgewater Bancshares in the first quarter valued at approximately $263,000. Bank of America Corp DE increased its position in shares of Bridgewater Bancshares by 14.4% in the first quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 20,759 shares of the company’s stock valued at $367,000 after buying an additional 2,615 shares in the last quarter. Rhino Investment Partners Inc increased its position in shares of Bridgewater Bancshares by 5.5% in the first quarter. Rhino Investment Partners Inc now owns 430,456 shares of the company’s stock valued at $7,619,000 after buying an additional 22,502 shares in the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC increased its position in shares of Bridgewater Bancshares by 79.8% in the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 92,109 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,630,000 after buying an additional 40,890 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Quantinno Capital Management LP increased its position in shares of Bridgewater Bancshares by 27.3% in the first quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP now owns 47,254 shares of the company’s stock valued at $836,000 after buying an additional 10,122 shares in the last quarter. 65.83% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Bridgewater Bancshares Company Profile

Bridgewater Bancshares, Inc is the bank holding company for Bridgewater Bank, a New Jersey-chartered community bank founded in 2006. Headquartered in Bridgewater, New Jersey, the company provides a broad array of financial services designed to meet the needs of both individual and business customers. As a locally focused institution, Bridgewater Bancshares emphasizes relationship banking, combining personalized service with the efficiency of modern banking technologies.

The company’s retail banking platform offers checking and savings accounts, certificates of deposit, money market accounts and consumer loan products.