Lawrence Seidman Acquires 10,000 Shares of Bankwell Financial Group (NASDAQ:BWFG) Stock

Bankwell Financial Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:BWFG) Director Lawrence Seidman bought 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, August 7th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $66.63 per share, for a total transaction of $666,300.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 222,690 shares in the company, valued at approximately $14,837,834.70. The trade was a 4.70% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink.

Bankwell Financial Group Price Performance

NASDAQ BWFG opened at $66.90 on Monday. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $59.20 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $52.97. Bankwell Financial Group, Inc. has a 12-month low of $39.00 and a 12-month high of $69.59. The stock has a market capitalization of $533.19 million, a PE ratio of 12.50 and a beta of 0.59. The company has a quick ratio of 1.03, a current ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31.

Bankwell Financial Group (NASDAQ:BWFG) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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. The firm had revenue of $32.78 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $30.63 million. Bankwell Financial Group had a net margin of 19.80% and a return on equity of 13.94%. As a group, equities analysts predict that Bankwell Financial Group, Inc. will post 5.7 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Bankwell Financial Group Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 21st. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 10th will be given a $0.20 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, August 10th. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.2%. Bankwell Financial Group’s payout ratio is currently 14.95%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Bankwell Financial Group

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in BWFG. Russell Investments Group Ltd. lifted its position in shares of Bankwell Financial Group by 585.0% during the 3rd quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 685 shares of the bank’s stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 585 shares during the last quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets grew its holdings in Bankwell Financial Group by 38.8% in the 2nd quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 1,124 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $40,000 after buying an additional 314 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in Bankwell Financial Group in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $63,000. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC increased its position in Bankwell Financial Group by 523.4% in the 2nd quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 1,995 shares of the bank’s stock worth $72,000 after buying an additional 1,675 shares during the period. Finally, Assetmark Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Bankwell Financial Group during the first quarter worth approximately $146,000. 35.80% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have recently commented on BWFG shares. Weiss Ratings lowered Bankwell Financial Group from a “buy (b+)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a report on Wednesday, June 24th. Hovde Group boosted their target price on Bankwell Financial Group from $51.00 to $63.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Monday, July 27th. Zacks Research upgraded Bankwell Financial Group from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, July 27th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price target on shares of Bankwell Financial Group from $62.00 to $72.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 28th. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut shares of Bankwell Financial Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Sunday, May 3rd. 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 company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $67.50.

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.