Bankwell Financial Group (NASDAQ:BWFG) Director Buys $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 B. Seidman purchased 17,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Friday, September 12th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $45.91 per share, with a total value of $780,470.00. Following the purchase, the director owned 194,509 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,929,908.19. This represents a 9.58% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link.

Bankwell Financial Group Price Performance

BWFG stock traded down $0.36 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $45.59. The company had a trading volume of 77,534 shares, compared to its average volume of 20,955. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51, a current ratio of 1.06 and a quick ratio of 1.06. Bankwell Financial Group, Inc. has a 1 year low of $26.39 and a 1 year high of $46.63. The company has a market capitalization of $358.93 million, a P/E ratio of 17.67 and a beta of 0.71. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $40.85 and a 200-day moving average price of $35.57.

Bankwell Financial Group (NASDAQ:BWFG - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Monday, July 28th. The bank reported $1.15 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 company had revenue of $47.14 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $24.20 million.

Bankwell Financial Group Dividend Announcement

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

BWFG has been the subject of several research reports. Hovde Group upped their target price on Bankwell Financial Group from $38.50 to $42.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 29th. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Bankwell Financial Group from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, August 11th. Finally, Raymond James Financial assumed coverage on shares of Bankwell Financial Group in a research note on Thursday, June 26th. They issued a "market perform" rating for the company. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $42.00.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Bankwell Financial Group

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC raised its stake in shares of Bankwell Financial Group by 523.4% during the second quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 1,995 shares of the bank's stock valued at $72,000 after acquiring an additional 1,675 shares during the last quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets raised its position in Bankwell Financial Group by 38.8% during the 2nd quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 1,124 shares of the bank's stock valued at $40,000 after purchasing an additional 314 shares during the last quarter. Bridgeway Capital Management LLC raised its position in Bankwell Financial Group by 1.8% during the 2nd quarter. Bridgeway Capital Management LLC now owns 47,079 shares of the bank's stock valued at $1,696,000 after purchasing an additional 815 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in Bankwell Financial Group during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $63,000. Finally, Fourthstone LLC raised its position 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. 35.80% of the stock is owned by 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.