Empowered Funds LLC Buys Shares of 32,191 Bankwell Financial Group, Inc. $BWFG

Key Points

• Empowered Funds LLC acquired 32,191 Bankwell Financial Group shares valued at approximately $1.89 million, representing about 0.40% of the company. Institutional investors collectively own 35.80% of BWFG.
• Analyst sentiment is favorable: BWFG has an average “Buy” rating and a $67.50 price target, with recent target increases from Hovde Group and Keefe, Bruyette & Woods.
• Bankwell exceeded quarterly expectations, reporting $1.52 in EPS versus a $1.29 estimate and $32.78 million in revenue versus a $30.63 million forecast. The company also maintains a quarterly dividend of $0.20 per share, yielding about 1.2%.

Empowered Funds LLC purchased a new position in shares of Bankwell Financial Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:BWFG - Free Report) in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm purchased 32,191 shares of the bank's stock, valued at approximately $1,891,000. Empowered Funds LLC owned about 0.40% of Bankwell Financial Group as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of BWFG. Russell Investments Group Ltd. lifted its position 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 worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 585 shares during the period. Legal & General Group Plc bought a new position in Bankwell Financial Group during the second quarter worth $37,000. BNP Paribas Financial Markets lifted its holdings in Bankwell Financial Group by 38.8% in the second quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 1,124 shares of the bank's stock valued at $40,000 after buying an additional 314 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in Bankwell Financial Group in the second quarter valued at $63,000. Finally, Tower Research Capital LLC TRC boosted its position in Bankwell Financial Group by 523.4% during the second quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 1,995 shares of the bank's stock valued at $72,000 after acquiring an additional 1,675 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 35.80% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Bankwell Financial Group news, Director Lawrence Seidman purchased 10,000 shares of Bankwell Financial Group stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 7th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $66.63 per share, with a total value of $666,300.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 222,690 shares in the company, valued at $14,837,834.70. This trade represents a 4.70% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Ryan Hildebrand sold 2,246 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Friday, July 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $66.74, for a total transaction of $149,898.04. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. 20.98% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

BWFG has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Hovde Group increased their price target on Bankwell Financial Group from $51.00 to $63.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a report on Monday, July 27th. Zacks Research raised Bankwell Financial Group from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Monday, July 27th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their target price on Bankwell Financial Group from $62.00 to $72.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 28th. Finally, Weiss Ratings upgraded Bankwell Financial Group from a "buy (b)" rating to a "buy (b+)" rating in a report on Thursday, August 13th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have issued a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Bankwell Financial Group currently has an average rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $67.50.

Bankwell Financial Group Stock Performance

Shares of Bankwell Financial Group stock opened at $66.15 on Friday. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $63.60 and a 200 day simple moving average of $55.37. Bankwell Financial Group, Inc. has a one year low of $40.44 and a one year high of $69.59. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31, a current ratio of 1.03 and a quick ratio of 1.03. The firm has a market capitalization of $527.22 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.36 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 (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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. On average, research analysts anticipate that Bankwell Financial Group, Inc. will post 5.7 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Bankwell Financial Group Announces Dividend

The company 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 dividend 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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