Bankwell Financial Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:BWFG) Short Interest Up 50.4% in August

Key Points

• Bankwell Financial Group experienced a 50.4% increase in short interest during August, with total short interest reaching 152,400 shares as of August 15th.
• Analysts have varying opinions on the stock, with a consensus target price of $42.00 and some brokerages upgrading or downgrading their ratings recently.
• The company reported $1.15 EPS for the last quarter, significantly beating the consensus estimate of $0.87, alongside revenues that surpassed expectations.

Bankwell Financial Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:BWFG - Get Free Report) saw a significant growth in short interest during the month of August. As of August 15th, there was short interest totaling 152,400 shares, agrowthof50.4% from the July 31st total of 101,300 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 24,800 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 6.1 days. Currently,2.5% of the company's stock are short sold. Currently,2.5% of the company's stock are short sold. Based on an average daily volume of 24,800 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 6.1 days.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on BWFG. Hovde Group boosted their target price on shares of Bankwell Financial Group from $38.50 to $42.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 29th. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Bankwell Financial Group from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, August 11th. Finally, Raymond James Financial began coverage on shares of Bankwell Financial Group in a report on Thursday, June 26th. They set a "market perform" rating on the stock. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Bankwell Financial Group currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $42.00.

Bankwell Financial Group Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:BWFG traded up $0.42 on Friday, hitting $43.08. The company had a trading volume of 30,462 shares, compared to its average volume of 28,291. Bankwell Financial Group has a 1-year low of $26.39 and a 1-year high of $43.38. The stock has a market cap of $339.17 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.70 and a beta of 0.71. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $39.52 and a 200 day moving average price of $34.75. The company has a current ratio of 1.06, a quick ratio of 1.06 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51.

Bankwell Financial Group (NASDAQ:BWFG - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, July 28th. The bank reported $1.15 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.87 by $0.28. Bankwell Financial Group had a net margin of 10.27% and a return on equity of 7.44%. The firm had revenue of $47.14 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $24.20 million.

Bankwell Financial Group Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 22nd. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 11th were issued a $0.20 dividend. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.9%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 11th. Bankwell Financial Group's payout ratio is currently 31.01%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Todd Lampert sold 3,300 shares of Bankwell Financial Group stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $42.29, for a total value of $139,557.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 13,533 shares in the company, valued at $572,310.57. This trade represents a 19.60% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Ryan Jason Hildebrand sold 2,051 shares of Bankwell Financial Group stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $39.69, for a total transaction of $81,404.19. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 3,334 shares in the company, valued at $132,326.46. This trade represents a 38.09% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders bought 1,083 shares of company stock worth $45,973 and sold 9,267 shares worth $377,769. 19.48% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Bankwell Financial Group

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Kestra Private Wealth Services LLC bought a new stake in shares of Bankwell Financial Group in the first quarter valued at about $217,000. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its position in shares of Bankwell Financial Group by 3,002.9% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,086 shares of the bank's stock valued at $36,000 after acquiring an additional 1,051 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its position in shares of Bankwell Financial Group by 2.6% in the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 288,871 shares of the bank's stock valued at $8,998,000 after acquiring an additional 7,363 shares during the period. Bank of America Corp DE boosted its position in shares of Bankwell Financial Group by 20.0% in the fourth quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 11,834 shares of the bank's stock valued at $369,000 after acquiring an additional 1,969 shares during the period. Finally, Deutsche Bank AG bought a new stake in Bankwell Financial Group during the fourth quarter worth about $104,000. 35.80% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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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