Kestra Private Wealth Services LLC Makes New $217,000 Investment in Bankwell Financial Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:BWFG)

Key Points

• Kestra Private Wealth Services LLC acquired 7,185 shares of Bankwell Financial Group, Inc. during the first quarter, worth approximately $217,000, increasing its stake to 0.09% of the company.
• Bankwell Financial Group’s shares have a 12-month trading range of $24.83 to $41.13, with a current market cap of $313.38 million and a PE ratio of 25.36.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.20 per share, with an annualized yield of 2.01% and a payout ratio of 50.96% expected.

Kestra Private Wealth Services LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Bankwell Financial Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:BWFG - Free Report) in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund acquired 7,185 shares of the bank's stock, valued at approximately $217,000. Kestra Private Wealth Services LLC owned approximately 0.09% of Bankwell Financial Group as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of BWFG. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its holdings in Bankwell Financial Group by 2.6% during the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 288,871 shares of the bank's stock worth $8,998,000 after buying an additional 7,363 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in Bankwell Financial Group by 0.5% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 148,035 shares of the bank's stock worth $4,612,000 after buying an additional 693 shares in the last quarter. Fourthstone LLC grew its holdings in 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 buying an additional 79,673 shares in the last quarter. Bridgeway Capital Management LLC grew its holdings 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 worth $1,706,000 after buying an additional 918 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Kennedy Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in 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 buying an additional 13,733 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 35.80% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity at Bankwell Financial Group

In other news, insider Ryan Jason Hildebrand sold 1,282 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $36.86, for a total transaction of $47,254.52. Following the transaction, the insider owned 2,051 shares of the company's stock, valued at $75,599.86. This represents a 38.46% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Over the last 90 days, insiders acquired 1,306 shares of company stock worth $46,585. 19.48% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Bankwell Financial Group Stock Performance

BWFG stock traded down $0.53 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $39.37. The company's stock had a trading volume of 7,005 shares, compared to its average volume of 16,556. The stock's 50-day moving average price is $36.31 and its 200 day moving average price is $32.82. 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, Inc. has a 1 year low of $24.83 and a 1 year high of $41.13. The stock has a market cap of $309.84 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.26 and a beta of 0.66.

Bankwell Financial Group (NASDAQ:BWFG - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, July 28th. The bank reported $1.15 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.87 by $0.28. Bankwell Financial Group had a return on equity of 7.52% and a net margin of 10.27%. The firm had revenue of $47.14 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $24.20 million.

Bankwell Financial Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 22nd. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 11th will be given a dividend of $0.20 per share. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, August 11th. Bankwell Financial Group's dividend payout ratio is currently 31.01%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have weighed in on BWFG. Wall Street Zen cut Bankwell Financial Group from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Saturday, July 26th. Raymond James Financial began coverage on Bankwell Financial Group in a research report on Thursday, June 26th. They issued a "market perform" rating on the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted 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. Finally, Hovde Group boosted their price objective on Bankwell Financial Group from $38.50 to $42.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a research report on Tuesday.

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.