Bankwell Financial Group (NASDAQ:BWFG) Share Price Passes Above 50-Day Moving Average - Here's Why

Bankwell Financial Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:BWFG - Get Free Report) passed above its 50-day moving average during trading on Wednesday . The stock has a 50-day moving average of $31.35 and traded as high as $35.55. Bankwell Financial Group shares last traded at $34.23, with a volume of 16,055 shares changing hands.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Wall Street Zen upgraded Bankwell Financial Group from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, April 25th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price objective on Bankwell Financial Group from $40.00 to $42.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, April 28th.

Bankwell Financial Group Price Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59, a current ratio of 1.06 and a quick ratio of 1.06. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $31.58 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $31.32. The firm has a market capitalization of $274.10 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.50 and a beta of 0.66.

Bankwell Financial Group (NASDAQ:BWFG - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 23rd. The bank reported $0.87 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.73 by $0.14. Bankwell Financial Group had a return on equity of 3.48% and a net margin of 4.76%. The business had revenue of $23.57 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $22.63 million.

Bankwell Financial Group Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, May 20th. Investors of record on Friday, May 9th were paid a dividend of $0.20 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 9th. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.30%. Bankwell Financial Group's payout ratio is 50.96%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, EVP Steven H. Brunner sold 807 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $33.36, for a total transaction of $26,921.52. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 1,548 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $51,641.28. This represents a 34.27% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Eric J. Dale bought 875 shares of Bankwell Financial Group stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 6th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $30.42 per share, with a total value of $26,617.50. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now directly owns 38,682 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,176,706.44. The trade was a 2.31% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 19.48% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Bankwell Financial Group

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in BWFG. Pacific Ridge Capital Partners LLC raised its stake in Bankwell Financial Group by 30.2% during the 4th quarter. Pacific Ridge Capital Partners LLC now owns 174,584 shares of the bank's stock valued at $5,438,000 after acquiring an additional 40,458 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its holdings in shares of Bankwell Financial Group by 2.6% in the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 288,871 shares of the bank's stock worth $8,998,000 after acquiring an additional 7,363 shares during the period. Kennedy Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Bankwell Financial Group by 60.8% in the 4th quarter. Kennedy Capital Management LLC now owns 36,312 shares of the bank's stock worth $1,131,000 after acquiring an additional 13,733 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its holdings in Bankwell Financial Group by 164.5% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 11,638 shares of the bank's stock valued at $349,000 after buying an additional 7,238 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Northeast Financial Consultants Inc acquired a new stake in Bankwell Financial Group during the 4th quarter valued at $682,000. 35.80% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.