Bankwell Financial Group (NASDAQ:BWFG) Stock Passes Above 50 Day Moving Average - Should You Sell?

Bankwell Financial Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:BWFG - Get Free Report) shares crossed above its 50-day moving average during trading on Monday . The stock has a 50-day moving average of $35.44 and traded as high as $38.42. Bankwell Financial Group shares last traded at $38.34, with a volume of 25,578 shares.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

BWFG has been the topic of several recent research reports. Wall Street Zen lowered Bankwell Financial Group from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Saturday, June 21st. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price target on Bankwell Financial Group from $40.00 to $42.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday, April 28th. Raymond James Financial began coverage on Bankwell Financial Group in a report on Thursday, June 26th. They set a "market perform" rating for the company. Finally, Hovde Group raised Bankwell Financial Group to a "hold" rating and boosted their price target for the company from $35.00 to $38.50 in a report on Monday, June 23rd.

Bankwell Financial Group Price Performance

The company has a 50-day moving average of $35.44 and a 200 day moving average of $32.12. The stock has a market capitalization of $293.16 million, a PE ratio of 23.73 and a beta of 0.66. The company has a quick ratio of 1.05, a current ratio of 1.05 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40.

Bankwell Financial Group (NASDAQ:BWFG - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 23rd. The bank reported $0.87 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.73 by $0.14. Bankwell Financial Group had a return on equity of 4.60% and a net margin of 6.33%. The company had revenue of $23.57 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $22.63 million.

Bankwell Financial Group Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, May 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 9th were issued 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 2.15%. Bankwell Financial Group's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 50.96%.

Insider Transactions at Bankwell Financial Group

In other news, EVP Steven H. Brunner sold 807 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $33.36, for a total value of $26,921.52. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 1,548 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $51,641.28. The trade was a 34.27% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Ryan Jason Hildebrand sold 1,282 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $36.86, for a total value of $47,254.52. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 2,051 shares of the company's stock, valued at $75,599.86. This represents a 38.46% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders bought 1,306 shares of company stock worth $46,585 and sold 2,478 shares worth $88,410. Corporate insiders own 19.48% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Bankwell Financial Group

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. GM Advisory Group LLC increased its stake in Bankwell Financial Group by 0.6% in the fourth quarter. GM Advisory Group LLC now owns 90,358 shares of the bank's stock valued at $2,815,000 after purchasing an additional 551 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Bankwell Financial Group by 0.5% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 148,035 shares of the bank's stock valued at $4,612,000 after purchasing an additional 693 shares during the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC grew its position in Bankwell Financial Group by 3.4% during the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 21,262 shares of the bank's stock valued at $642,000 after acquiring an additional 702 shares during the period. Bridgeway Capital Management LLC grew its position in Bankwell Financial Group by 1.7% during the fourth quarter. Bridgeway Capital Management LLC now owns 54,765 shares of the bank's stock valued at $1,706,000 after acquiring an additional 918 shares during the period. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company MN grew its position in Bankwell Financial Group by 9.4% during the fourth quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN now owns 11,338 shares of the bank's stock valued at $353,000 after acquiring an additional 975 shares during the period. 35.80% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.