Corient Private Wealth LP Acquires New Holdings in Bankwell Financial Group, Inc. $BWFG

Key Points

• Corient Private Wealth LP acquired 21,904 Bankwell Financial Group shares worth approximately $1.29 million, joining other institutional investors that increased their positions. Institutions collectively own 35.8% of BWFG, while insiders own 20.98%.
• Analyst sentiment is broadly positive: BWFG has an average “Buy” rating and a consensus price target of $67.50, with Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raising its target to $72 and assigning an “outperform” rating.
• Bankwell exceeded quarterly expectations, reporting $1.52 in earnings per share versus the $1.29 consensus and $32.78 million in revenue. The company also maintains a quarterly dividend of $0.20 per share, equivalent to a 1.2% yield.

Corient Private Wealth LP acquired a new position in Bankwell Financial Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:BWFG - Free Report) during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 21,904 shares of the bank's stock, valued at approximately $1,287,000. Corient Private Wealth LP owned about 0.27% of Bankwell Financial Group as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Barclays PLC grew its stake in Bankwell Financial Group by 1.3% during the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 24,040 shares of the bank's stock valued at $1,064,000 after acquiring an additional 307 shares in the last quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets increased its stake in Bankwell Financial Group by 38.8% during the second quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 1,124 shares of the bank's stock worth $40,000 after acquiring an additional 314 shares during the last quarter. GM Advisory Group LLC raised its holdings in Bankwell Financial Group by 0.4% in the 1st quarter. GM Advisory Group LLC now owns 106,498 shares of the bank's stock valued at $5,167,000 after buying an additional 439 shares during the period. Russell Investments Group Ltd. raised its stake in shares of Bankwell Financial Group by 585.0% in the 3rd quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 685 shares of the bank's stock valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 585 shares during the period. Finally, Legal & General Group Plc acquired a new position in Bankwell Financial Group during the 2nd quarter worth about $37,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 35.80% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity at Bankwell Financial Group

In other Bankwell Financial Group news, insider Ryan Hildebrand sold 2,246 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, July 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $66.74, for a total value of $149,898.04. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Lawrence Seidman acquired 2,540 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 25th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $65.92 per share, with a total value of $167,436.80. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director owned 223,684 shares in the company, valued at $14,745,249.28. This represents a 1.15% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase is available in the SEC filing. 20.98% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently issued reports on BWFG. 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. Hovde Group upped their price objective on Bankwell Financial Group from $51.00 to $63.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a research note on Monday, July 27th. 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. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price target on Bankwell Financial Group from $62.00 to $72.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 28th. One research 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 stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $67.50.

Bankwell Financial Group Stock Up 1.9%

BWFG stock opened at $67.39 on Friday. Bankwell Financial Group, Inc. has a one year low of $40.44 and a one year high of $69.59. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $63.76 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $55.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31, a quick ratio of 1.03 and a current ratio of 1.03. The stock has a market capitalization of $537.10 million, a P/E ratio of 12.60 and a beta of 0.58.

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

Bankwell Financial Group Announces Dividend

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

Bankwell Financial Group Company 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.

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