Bankwell Financial Group (NASDAQ:BWFG) Reaches New 52-Week High After Analyst Upgrade

Bankwell Financial Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:BWFG)’s share price reached a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Monday after Hovde Group raised their price target on the stock from $51.00 to $63.00. Hovde Group currently has a market perform rating on the stock. Bankwell Financial Group traded as high as $63.32 and last traded at $63.23, with a volume of 6700 shares. The stock had previously closed at $62.21.

A number of other analysts have also weighed in on BWFG. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Bankwell Financial Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Sunday, May 3rd. Weiss Ratings lowered Bankwell Financial Group from a “buy (b+)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 24th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $59.00.

Insider Buying and Selling at Bankwell Financial Group

In other news, EVP Christine Chivily sold 4,321 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, May 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $52.16, for a total transaction of $225,383.36. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 11,865 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $618,878.40. The trade was a 26.70% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Lawrence B. Seidman purchased 3,300 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 1st. The stock was bought at an average price of $51.87 per share, for a total transaction of $171,171.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director owned 218,756 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,346,873.72. The trade was a 1.53% increase in their position. Additional details regarding this purchase are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last 90 days, insiders purchased 7,156 shares of company stock valued at $370,525 and sold 8,909 shares valued at $476,575. 20.98% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Bankwell Financial Group

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Legato Capital Management LLC bought a new position in Bankwell Financial Group in the fourth quarter worth approximately $443,000. Russell Investments Group Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of Bankwell Financial Group by 585.0% in the 3rd quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 685 shares of the bank’s stock worth $30,000 after buying an additional 585 shares during the period. Bank of America Corp DE grew its position in shares of Bankwell Financial Group by 25.1% during the 1st quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 14,598 shares of the bank’s stock worth $708,000 after buying an additional 2,933 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its position in shares of Bankwell Financial Group by 6.2% during the 1st quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 22,311 shares of the bank’s stock worth $1,083,000 after buying an additional 1,309 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sei Investments Co. increased its stake in shares of Bankwell Financial Group by 111.4% during the first quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 41,342 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $2,006,000 after buying an additional 21,786 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 35.80% of the company’s stock.

Bankwell Financial Group Stock Performance

The stock has a market cap of $499.96 million, a PE ratio of 11.73 and a beta of 0.61. The company has a quick ratio of 1.05, a current ratio of 1.05 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $56.21 and a 200 day moving average price of $51.56.

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 during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $30.63 million. As a group, research analysts forecast that Bankwell Financial Group, Inc. will post 5.35 earnings per share for the current year.

Bankwell Financial Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 21st. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 10th will be issued a $0.20 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, August 10th. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.3%. Bankwell Financial Group’s payout ratio is currently 14.95%.

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.