Short Interest in Bankwell Financial Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:BWFG) Rises By 22.3%

Bankwell Financial Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:BWFG) saw a significant increase in short interest during the month of March. As of March 13th, there was short interest totaling 202,175 shares, an increase of 22.3% from the February 26th total of 165,275 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 33,514 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 6.0 days. Approximately 3.1% of the company’s shares are short sold.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Matt Mcneill sold 3,794 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $49.83, for a total transaction of $189,055.02. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 45,019 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,243,296.77. This trade represents a 7.77% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Lawrence B. Seidman purchased 10,000 shares of Bankwell Financial Group stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 12th. The stock was bought at an average price of $46.88 per share, for a total transaction of $468,800.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 216,904 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,168,459.52. The trade was a 4.83% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase is available in the SEC filing. Over the last ninety days, insiders acquired 26,816 shares of company stock valued at $1,256,874 and sold 11,897 shares valued at $592,523. Company insiders own 19.48% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in BWFG. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Bankwell Financial Group by 3.9% during the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 366,963 shares of the bank’s stock worth $16,238,000 after acquiring an additional 13,823 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its position in Bankwell Financial Group by 0.4% in the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 314,446 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $14,409,000 after acquiring an additional 1,252 shares in the last quarter. Fourthstone LLC boosted its stake in Bankwell Financial Group by 60.2% during the 2nd quarter. Fourthstone LLC now owns 266,865 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $9,615,000 after purchasing an additional 100,302 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in Bankwell Financial Group by 5.4% during the 2nd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 159,384 shares of the bank’s stock worth $5,744,000 after purchasing an additional 8,178 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Siena Capital Partners GP LLC increased its holdings in Bankwell Financial Group by 5.3% during the 3rd quarter. Siena Capital Partners GP LLC now owns 116,138 shares of the bank’s stock worth $5,139,000 after purchasing an additional 5,800 shares in the last quarter. 35.80% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price objective on shares of Bankwell Financial Group from $53.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, February 2nd. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Bankwell Financial Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, March 7th. Hovde Group lifted their price objective on Bankwell Financial Group from $48.00 to $49.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Monday, February 2nd. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Bankwell Financial Group in a report on Monday, December 29th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $52.00.

Bankwell Financial Group Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ BWFG opened at $47.49 on Monday. The firm has a market capitalization of $378.83 million, a P/E ratio of 10.70 and a beta of 0.67. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $47.93 and its 200-day moving average price is $46.31. The company has a current ratio of 1.06, a quick ratio of 1.06 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60. Bankwell Financial Group has a 1-year low of $26.39 and a 1-year high of $51.54.

Bankwell Financial Group (NASDAQ:BWFG) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, January 29th. The bank reported $1.36 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.20 by $0.16. The business had revenue of $30.32 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $28.06 million. Bankwell Financial Group had a return on equity of 12.21% and a net margin of 16.94%.

Bankwell Financial Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 20th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 10th were given a $0.20 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 10th. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.7%. Bankwell Financial Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 18.02%.

About Bankwell Financial Group

Bankwell Financial Group, Inc is a bank holding company headquartered in Westchester, Illinois, and serves as the parent of Bankwell Bank. Through its subsidiary, the company provides a full suite of banking products and services designed for both individual consumers and small‐ to mid‐sized businesses. Bankwell Bank operates multiple branches across suburban Cook and Lake counties, focusing on personalized service and local decision‐making.

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.