Bankwell Financial Group (NASDAQ:BWFG) Director Acquires $780,470.00 in Stock

Key Points

• Director Lawrence Seidman purchased 17,000 shares of Bankwell Financial Group stock for approximately $780,470, increasing his ownership by 9.58% and bringing his total holdings to 194,509 shares.
• The company reported a quarterly earnings per share of $1.15, exceeding analysts' estimates, with a net margin of 10.27% and revenue of $47.14 million for the quarter.
• Bankwell Financial recently declared a **dividend** of $0.20 per share, translating to an annualized yield of 1.8% and a payout ratio of 31.01%.

Bankwell Financial Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:BWFG - Get Free Report) Director Lawrence Seidman acquired 17,000 shares of Bankwell Financial Group stock in a transaction on Friday, September 12th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $45.91 per share, for a total transaction of $780,470.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director directly owned 194,509 shares of the company's stock, valued at $8,929,908.19. The trade was a 9.58% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink.

Bankwell Financial Group Trading Down 0.5%

NASDAQ BWFG traded down $0.25 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $45.39. 10,300 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 20,048. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $40.27 and a 200 day moving average price of $35.25. The company has a quick ratio of 1.06, a current ratio of 1.06 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51. Bankwell Financial Group, Inc. has a 52 week low of $26.39 and a 52 week high of $46.63. The stock has a market cap of $357.18 million, a PE ratio of 17.59 and a beta of 0.71.

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

Bankwell Financial Group Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 22nd. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 11th were paid a dividend of $0.20 per share. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 11th. Bankwell Financial Group's payout ratio is presently 31.01%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

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

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Ameritas Investment Partners Inc. lifted its stake in Bankwell Financial Group by 70.7% in the 2nd quarter. Ameritas Investment Partners Inc. now owns 722 shares of the bank's stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 299 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its holdings in Bankwell Financial Group by 3,002.9% in the 1st 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 last quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets raised 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 acquiring an additional 314 shares during the last quarter. Police & Firemen s Retirement System of New Jersey acquired a new stake in Bankwell Financial Group in the 2nd quarter valued at about $50,000. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in Bankwell Financial Group in the 2nd quarter valued at about $63,000. 35.80% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Bankwell Financial Group

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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