Bankwell Financial Group (NASDAQ:BWFG) Reaches New 1-Year High – Here’s Why

Bankwell Financial Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:BWFG) reached a new 52-week high on Wednesday. The company traded as high as $73.74 and last traded at $73.3730, with a volume of 22,051 shares. The stock had previously closed at $71.68.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have commented on BWFG shares. Zacks Research raised Bankwell Financial Group from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday. Weiss Ratings lowered Bankwell Financial Group from a “buy (a)” rating to a “buy (a-)” rating in a research report on Monday, October 26th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $79.00 target price (up from $72.00) on shares of Bankwell Financial Group in a research report on Friday, October 30th. Finally, Hovde Group lifted their price target on shares of Bankwell Financial Group from $51.00 to $63.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Monday, July 27th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has assigned a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $71.00.

Bankwell Financial Group Trading Up 2.4%

The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $66.63 and a 200 day simple moving average of $57.11. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31, a quick ratio of 1.03 and a current ratio of 1.03. The company has a market capitalization of $585.16 million, a PE ratio of 12.96 and a beta of 0.58.

Bankwell Financial Group (NASDAQ:BWFG) last released its earnings results on Thursday, October 29th. The bank reported $1.58 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.44 by $0.14. The business had revenue of $35.33 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $33.33 million. Bankwell Financial Group had a return on equity of 14.58% and a net margin of 20.49%. Analysts anticipate that Bankwell Financial Group, Inc. will post 6.12 earnings per share for the current year.

Bankwell Financial Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 20th. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 9th will be issued a $0.20 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, November 9th. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.1%. Bankwell Financial Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 14.13%.

Insider Activity

In other Bankwell Financial Group news, Director Eric Dale purchased 530 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 8th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $67.11 per share, with a total value of $35,568.30. Following the completion of the purchase, the director owned 43,026 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,887,474.86. This represents a 1.25% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Director Lawrence Seidman purchased 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 7th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $66.63 per share, for a total transaction of $666,300.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 222,690 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $14,837,834.70. The trade was a 4.70% increase in their position. Additional details regarding this purchase are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last three months, insiders bought 19,040 shares of company stock worth $1,269,057. Insiders own 20.98% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Bankwell Financial Group

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in BWFG. State of Alaska Department of Revenue lifted its position in Bankwell Financial Group by 69.7% in the third quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue now owns 728 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $46,000 after buying an additional 299 shares during the last quarter. Corient Private Wealth LP increased its position in shares of Bankwell Financial Group by 1.5% during the second quarter. Corient Private Wealth LP now owns 22,223 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $1,306,000 after acquiring an additional 320 shares during the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc acquired a new stake in shares of Bankwell Financial Group during the second quarter valued at about $37,000. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. purchased a new stake in shares of Bankwell Financial Group in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $49,000. Finally, Hsbc Holdings PLC raised its stake in shares of Bankwell Financial Group by 4.9% in the 1st quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 19,870 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $967,000 after acquiring an additional 932 shares during the period. 35.80% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Bankwell Financial Group Company Profile

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.