Bankwell Financial Group (NASDAQ:BWFG) Issues Quarterly Earnings Results

Key Points

• Bankwell Financial Group reported a quarterly earnings per share of $1.27, exceeding analysts' expectations of $1.02.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.20 per share, representing an annualized yield of 1.7% and a dividend payout ratio of 31.01%.
• Institutional investors increased their stakes in Bankwell Financial Group, with notable growth from Geode Capital Management and Arrowstreet Capital, indicating strong institutional interest in the stock.

Bankwell Financial Group (NASDAQ:BWFG - Get Free Report) released its earnings results on Thursday. The bank reported $1.27 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.02 by $0.25, Zacks reports. Bankwell Financial Group had a net margin of 10.27% and a return on equity of 7.44%.

Bankwell Financial Group Price Performance

NASDAQ BWFG traded up $2.53 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $46.17. The company had a trading volume of 9,048 shares, compared to its average volume of 21,921. Bankwell Financial Group has a 52 week low of $26.39 and a 52 week high of $48.03. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $43.15 and a 200 day simple moving average of $37.87. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51, a quick ratio of 1.06 and a current ratio of 1.06. The firm has a market capitalization of $363.36 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.90 and a beta of 0.68.

Bankwell Financial Group Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 22nd. Investors of record on Monday, August 11th were issued a dividend of $0.20 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 11th. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.7%. Bankwell Financial Group's dividend payout ratio is 31.01%.

Insider Transactions at Bankwell Financial Group

In related news, Director Todd Lampert sold 3,300 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $42.29, for a total transaction of $139,557.00. Following the sale, the director owned 13,533 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $572,310.57. This represents a 19.60% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Lawrence B. Seidman bought 17,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, September 12th. The stock was purchased at an average price 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 in the company, valued at approximately $8,929,908.19. This represents a 9.58% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have bought 29,083 shares of company stock valued at $1,316,383 and have sold 8,017 shares valued at $335,036. Insiders own 19.48% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Bankwell Financial Group

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in BWFG. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in Bankwell Financial Group by 5.4% during the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 159,384 shares of the bank's stock worth $5,744,000 after buying an additional 8,178 shares in the last quarter. Bridgeway Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Bankwell Financial Group by 1.8% in the second quarter. Bridgeway Capital Management LLC now owns 47,079 shares of the bank's stock worth $1,696,000 after purchasing an additional 815 shares during the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC raised its stake in Bankwell Financial Group by 3.4% in the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 21,262 shares of the bank's stock valued at $642,000 after purchasing an additional 702 shares in the last quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership raised its stake in Bankwell Financial Group by 99.9% in the second quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 15,301 shares of the bank's stock valued at $551,000 after purchasing an additional 7,648 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Rhumbline Advisers lifted its position in Bankwell Financial Group by 15.2% during the second quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 10,119 shares of the bank's stock valued at $365,000 after purchasing an additional 1,335 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 35.80% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

BWFG has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Weiss Ratings restated a "buy (b-)" rating on shares of Bankwell Financial Group in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Raymond James Financial started coverage on Bankwell Financial Group in a research report on Thursday, June 26th. They issued a "market perform" rating for the company. Hovde Group upped their price target 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, Wall Street Zen downgraded Bankwell Financial Group from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, August 11th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $42.00.

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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