Sei Investments Co. Raises Position in Bankwell Financial Group, Inc. $BWFG

Key Points

• Sei Investments more than doubled its Bankwell Financial Group stake in the first quarter, acquiring 21,786 additional shares for a total position of 41,342 shares valued at approximately $2.0 million. Institutional investors collectively own 35.8% of the company.
• Bankwell reported a quarterly earnings beat, with EPS of $1.52 versus the $1.29 consensus and revenue of $32.78 million versus estimates of $30.63 million. Analysts maintain a consensus “Buy” rating with an average price target of $67.50.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.20 per share, equivalent to an annualized $0.80 payout and a 1.2% yield. Shares opened at $66.90, near the 52-week high of $69.59, while recent insider activity included both purchases and sales.

Sei Investments Co. increased its stake in Bankwell Financial Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:BWFG - Free Report) by 111.4% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 41,342 shares of the bank's stock after buying an additional 21,786 shares during the quarter. Sei Investments Co. owned about 0.52% of Bankwell Financial Group worth $2,006,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its holdings in Bankwell Financial Group by 1.5% during the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 319,241 shares of the bank's stock valued at $15,489,000 after acquiring an additional 4,795 shares during the period. Assetmark Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Bankwell Financial Group during the first quarter valued at $146,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its holdings in Bankwell Financial Group by 6.2% during the 1st quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 22,311 shares of the bank's stock worth $1,083,000 after acquiring an additional 1,309 shares in the last quarter. Hillsdale Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Bankwell Financial Group by 6.0% in the 1st quarter. Hillsdale Investment Management Inc. now owns 105,900 shares of the bank's stock valued at $5,138,000 after purchasing an additional 6,000 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Hsbc Holdings PLC increased its holdings in Bankwell Financial Group by 4.9% during the first quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 19,870 shares of the bank's stock valued at $967,000 after buying an additional 932 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 35.80% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity at Bankwell Financial Group

In other Bankwell Financial Group news, Director Todd Lampert sold 3,500 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 5th. The stock was 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 document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, insider Ryan Jason Hildebrand sold 2,246 shares of Bankwell Financial Group stock in a transaction on Friday, July 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $66.74, for a total value of $149,898.04. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last quarter, insiders have bought 7,156 shares of company stock valued at $370,525 and have sold 6,834 shares valued at $401,089. Company insiders own 20.98% of the company's stock.

Bankwell Financial Group Stock Performance

Shares of Bankwell Financial Group stock opened at $66.90 on Monday. The stock's 50 day simple moving average is $59.20 and its 200-day simple moving average is $52.97. The stock has a market cap of $533.19 million, a P/E ratio of 12.50 and a beta of 0.59. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31, a current ratio of 1.03 and a quick ratio of 1.03. Bankwell Financial Group, Inc. has a 1-year low of $39.00 and a 1-year high of $69.59.

Bankwell Financial Group (NASDAQ:BWFG - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 23rd. The bank reported $1.52 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.29 by $0.23. The business had revenue of $32.78 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $30.63 million. Bankwell Financial Group had a return on equity of 13.94% and a net margin of 19.80%. Analysts predict that Bankwell Financial Group, Inc. will post 5.7 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Bankwell Financial Group Announces Dividend

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have commented on the stock. 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 raised their price objective on 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. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their target price on shares of Bankwell Financial Group from $62.00 to $72.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 28th. Wall Street Zen lowered Bankwell Financial Group from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Sunday, May 3rd. Finally, Weiss Ratings cut shares of Bankwell Financial Group from a "buy (b+)" rating to a "buy (b)" rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 24th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have given a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average price target 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.

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