Bankwell Financial Group (NASDAQ:BWFG) Shares Pass Above 50-Day Moving Average - Here's What Happened

Bankwell Financial Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:BWFG - Get Free Report) shares passed above its fifty day moving average during trading on Friday . The stock has a fifty day moving average of $33.72 and traded as high as $35.30. Bankwell Financial Group shares last traded at $35.18, with a volume of 14,646 shares trading hands.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on BWFG shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price target on Bankwell Financial Group from $40.00 to $42.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday, April 28th. Wall Street Zen downgraded Bankwell Financial Group from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Saturday.

Bankwell Financial Group Price Performance

The firm has a market capitalization of $276.87 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.41 and a beta of 0.67. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $33.72 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $31.64. 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 posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 23rd. The bank reported $0.87 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.73 by $0.14. The business had revenue of $23.57 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $22.63 million. Bankwell Financial Group had a return on equity of 4.60% and a net margin of 6.33%.

Bankwell Financial Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, May 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 9th were issued a $0.20 dividend. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.27%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 9th. Bankwell Financial Group's payout ratio is currently 50.96%.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Steven H. Brunner sold 807 shares of the stock in a transaction on 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 sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 1,548 shares of the company's stock, valued at $51,641.28. This trade represents a 34.27% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Over the last ninety days, insiders bought 1,306 shares of company stock valued at $46,585. 19.48% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Bankwell Financial Group

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of BWFG. Fourthstone LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Bankwell Financial Group by 307.5% during the fourth quarter. Fourthstone LLC now owns 105,585 shares of the bank's stock worth $3,289,000 after purchasing an additional 79,673 shares during the period. Pacific Ridge Capital Partners LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Bankwell Financial Group by 30.2% during the fourth quarter. Pacific Ridge Capital Partners LLC now owns 174,584 shares of the bank's stock worth $5,438,000 after purchasing an additional 40,458 shares during the period. Northeast Financial Consultants Inc acquired a new stake in shares of Bankwell Financial Group during the fourth quarter worth $682,000. GM Advisory Group LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Bankwell Financial Group by 15.6% during the first quarter. GM Advisory Group LLC now owns 104,477 shares of the bank's stock worth $3,153,000 after purchasing an additional 14,119 shares during the period. Finally, Kennedy Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Bankwell Financial Group by 60.8% during the fourth quarter. Kennedy Capital Management LLC now owns 36,312 shares of the bank's stock worth $1,131,000 after purchasing an additional 13,733 shares during the period. 35.80% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.

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