Bankwell Financial Group (NASDAQ:BWFG) Lowered to "Buy" Rating by Wall Street Zen

Key Points

• Bankwell Financial Group's stock rating was downgraded by Wall Street Zen from "strong-buy" to "buy" in a recent investor note.
• Despite the downgrade, other analysts like Hovde Group and Keefe, Bruyette & Woods have raised their target prices on the stock to $42.00.
• Bankwell Financial Group reported an EPS of $1.15 for its last quarter, significantly exceeding the consensus estimate of $0.87.

Bankwell Financial Group (NASDAQ:BWFG - Get Free Report) was downgraded by Wall Street Zen from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report issued on Monday.

A number of other equities analysts have also recently issued reports on BWFG. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their target price on shares of Bankwell Financial Group from $40.00 to $42.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, April 28th. Raymond James Financial started coverage on shares of Bankwell Financial Group in a research report on Thursday, June 26th. They issued a "market perform" rating for the company. Finally, Hovde Group upped their price target on shares of Bankwell Financial Group from $38.50 to $42.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 29th.

Bankwell Financial Group Price Performance

BWFG stock traded down $0.54 during trading on Monday, reaching $40.64. 4,624 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 17,476. The company has a market cap of $319.80 million, a P/E ratio of 15.76 and a beta of 0.71. Bankwell Financial Group has a 52-week low of $25.79 and a 52-week high of $41.46. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $37.36 and its 200 day moving average price is $33.52. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51, a quick ratio of 1.06 and a current ratio of 1.06.

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, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.87 by $0.28. The firm had revenue of $47.14 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $24.20 million. Bankwell Financial Group had a net margin of 10.27% and a return on equity of 7.44%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Bankwell Financial Group

In other Bankwell Financial Group news, insider Ryan Jason Hildebrand sold 2,051 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 sale, the insider directly owned 3,334 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $132,326.46. This represents a 38.09% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Over the last 90 days, insiders have acquired 1,306 shares of company stock worth $46,585 and have sold 3,722 shares worth $142,892. Company insiders own 19.48% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Bankwell Financial Group

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Fourthstone LLC boosted its position in shares of Bankwell Financial Group by 307.5% during the 4th quarter. Fourthstone LLC now owns 105,585 shares of the bank's stock valued at $3,289,000 after purchasing an additional 79,673 shares in the last quarter. Northeast Financial Consultants Inc bought a new position in shares of Bankwell Financial Group during the 4th quarter valued at about $682,000. GM Advisory Group LLC boosted its position in shares of Bankwell Financial Group by 15.6% during the 1st quarter. GM Advisory Group LLC now owns 104,477 shares of the bank's stock valued at $3,153,000 after purchasing an additional 14,119 shares in the last quarter. Kennedy Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Bankwell Financial Group by 60.8% during the 4th quarter. Kennedy Capital Management LLC now owns 36,312 shares of the bank's stock valued at $1,131,000 after purchasing an additional 13,733 shares in the last quarter. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its position in shares of Bankwell Financial Group by 102.7% during the 4th quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 23,590 shares of the bank's stock valued at $735,000 after purchasing an additional 11,952 shares in the last quarter. 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.