BlackRock Inc. Buys New Position in Bankwell Financial Group, Inc. $BWFG

Key Points

• BlackRock acquired 493,180 shares of Bankwell Financial Group in the second quarter, establishing a stake worth approximately $29 million and representing 6.19% of the company.
• Bankwell reported quarterly EPS of $1.52, beating estimates of $1.29, while revenue of $32.78 million also exceeded forecasts. The company pays a quarterly dividend of $0.20 per share, yielding about 1.2% annually.
• Analysts maintain a generally positive outlook, with a consensus “Buy” rating and a $67.50 price target. BWFG recently traded at $65.88, near its 52-week high of $69.59.

BlackRock Inc. acquired a new stake in Bankwell Financial Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:BWFG - Free Report) during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm acquired 493,180 shares of the bank's stock, valued at approximately $28,974,000. BlackRock Inc. owned approximately 6.19% of Bankwell Financial Group at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Russell Investments Group Ltd. lifted its stake in Bankwell Financial Group by 585.0% in the third quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 685 shares of the bank's stock worth $30,000 after acquiring an additional 585 shares during the last quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets increased its position in shares of Bankwell Financial Group by 38.8% in the 2nd quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 1,124 shares of the bank's stock valued at $40,000 after purchasing an additional 314 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Bankwell Financial Group in the 2nd quarter valued at $63,000. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC raised its holdings in shares of Bankwell Financial Group by 523.4% in the 2nd quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 1,995 shares of the bank's stock valued at $72,000 after purchasing an additional 1,675 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Assetmark Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Bankwell Financial Group during the 1st quarter worth $146,000. 35.80% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Bankwell Financial Group Stock Up 0.6%

BWFG opened at $65.88 on Thursday. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $63.44 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $55.24. The company has a quick ratio of 1.03, a current ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31. The company has a market cap of $525.06 million, a PE ratio of 12.31 and a beta of 0.58. Bankwell Financial Group, Inc. has a 52 week low of $40.44 and a 52 week high of $69.59.

Bankwell Financial Group (NASDAQ:BWFG - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, July 23rd. The bank reported $1.52 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.29 by $0.23. Bankwell Financial Group had a return on equity of 13.94% and a net margin of 19.80%.The business had revenue of $32.78 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $30.63 million. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Bankwell Financial Group, Inc. will post 5.7 EPS for the current year.

Bankwell Financial Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 21st. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 10th were given a dividend of $0.20 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 10th. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.2%. Bankwell Financial Group's dividend payout ratio is presently 14.95%.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Todd Lampert sold 3,500 shares of Bankwell Financial Group stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $53.59, for a total value of $187,565.00. Following the sale, the director owned 12,366 shares of the company's stock, valued at $662,693.94. The trade was a 22.06% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Lawrence B. Seidman purchased 10,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 7th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $66.63 per share, for a total transaction of $666,300.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director owned 222,690 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $14,837,834.70. This trade represents a 4.70% increase in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this purchase are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last 90 days, insiders have purchased 14,215 shares of company stock worth $923,684 and have sold 6,834 shares worth $401,089. 20.98% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have commented on BWFG shares. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Bankwell Financial Group from a "buy (b)" rating to a "buy (b+)" rating in a research note on Thursday, August 13th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their target price on shares of Bankwell Financial Group from $62.00 to $72.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 28th. Zacks Research raised shares of Bankwell Financial Group from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Monday, July 27th. Finally, Hovde Group lifted their price target on shares of Bankwell Financial Group from $51.00 to $63.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a research note on Monday, July 27th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have issued a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Bankwell Financial Group has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $67.50.

Bankwell Financial Group Profile

Bankwell Financial Group, Inc is a bank holding company headquartered in New Canaan, Connecticut, and serves as the parent company of Bankwell Bank. Bankwell Bank provides commercial, business and personal banking services, with branch locations primarily across Fairfield and New Haven counties in Connecticut, along with a New York presence.

The company’s deposit offerings include checking, savings and money market accounts, as well as certificates of deposit, all supported by an online and mobile banking platform for convenient account access.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.