Bankwell Financial Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:BWFG) Plans Quarterly Dividend of $0.20

Key Points

• Bankwell Financial Group announced a quarterly dividend of $0.20 per share, with payment set for August 22nd to stockholders of record on August 11th, representing a 2.14% dividend yield.
• The company reported $1.15 EPS for the quarter, surpassing analysts' expectations, with a net margin of 6.33% and a return on equity of 4.60%.
• Equity analysts have varied ratings, with Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upgrading their price target from $40.00 to $42.00 while Wall Street Zen downgraded it from a "strong-buy" to a "buy" rating.

Bankwell Financial Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:BWFG - Get Free Report) declared a quarterly dividend on Monday, July 28th, RTT News reports. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 11th will be paid a dividend of 0.20 per share by the bank on Friday, August 22nd. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.14%.

Bankwell Financial Group has a dividend payout ratio of 16.6% indicating that its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings.

Bankwell Financial Group Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ BWFG opened at $37.39 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.05, a current ratio of 1.05 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40. The firm's 50-day moving average price is $36.06 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $32.65. Bankwell Financial Group has a 52-week low of $24.83 and a 52-week high of $40.21. The stock has a market capitalization of $294.26 million, a P/E ratio of 23.82 and a beta of 0.66.

Bankwell Financial Group (NASDAQ:BWFG - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, July 28th. The bank reported $1.15 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.81 by $0.34. Bankwell Financial Group had a net margin of 6.33% and a return on equity of 4.60%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have recently commented on the stock. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Bankwell Financial Group from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Saturday. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price objective on shares of Bankwell Financial Group from $40.00 to $42.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, April 28th. Hovde Group raised shares of Bankwell Financial Group to a "hold" rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $35.00 to $38.50 in a research note on Monday, June 23rd. Finally, Raymond James Financial began coverage on shares of Bankwell Financial Group in a research report on Thursday, June 26th. They set a "market perform" rating for the company.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Bankwell Financial Group news, EVP Steven H. Brunner sold 807 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $33.36, for a total value of $26,921.52. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 1,548 shares in the company, valued at approximately $51,641.28. This trade represents a 34.27% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Ryan Jason Hildebrand sold 1,282 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $36.86, for a total transaction of $47,254.52. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 2,051 shares in the company, valued at approximately $75,599.86. This trade represents a 38.46% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders bought 1,306 shares of company stock worth $46,585 and sold 2,478 shares worth $88,410. Corporate insiders own 19.48% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Bankwell Financial Group

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in BWFG. Empowered Funds LLC increased its stake in Bankwell Financial Group by 3.4% in the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 21,262 shares of the bank's stock valued at $642,000 after buying an additional 702 shares during the last quarter. Jane Street Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Bankwell Financial Group in the 1st quarter valued at about $250,000. Finally, Strs Ohio bought a new position in shares of Bankwell Financial Group in the 1st quarter valued at about $148,000. Institutional investors own 35.80% of the company's stock.

Bankwell Financial Group Company Profile

Bankwell Financial Group, Inc operates as the bank holding company for Bankwell Bank that provides various banking services for individual and commercial customers. It offers various traditional depository products, including checking, savings, money market, and certificates of deposit. The company also provides first mortgage loans secured by one-to-four family owner occupied residential properties for personal use; home equity loans and home equity lines of credit secured by owner occupied one-to-four family residential properties; loans secured by commercial real estate, multi-family dwellings, owner-occupied commercial real estate, and investor-owned one-to-four family dwellings; commercial construction loans for commercial development projects, including apartment buildings and condominiums, as well as office buildings, retail, and other income producing properties; land loans; commercial business loans secured by assignments of corporate assets and personal guarantees of the business owners; loans to finance insurance premiums; overdraft lines of credit; and unsecured personal loans.

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