Bankwell Financial Group (NASDAQ:BWFG) Director Jeffrey Dunne Acquires 261 Shares

Key Points

• Director Jeffrey Dunne purchased 261 Bankwell Financial Group shares at an average price of $67.11, investing $17,515.71 and increasing his direct holdings by 4.26% to 6,381 shares.
• Bankwell reported quarterly earnings of $1.52 per share, beating estimates by $0.23, while revenue of $32.78 million also exceeded expectations.
• The company pays a quarterly dividend of $0.20, equivalent to $0.80 annually and a 1.2% yield; analysts maintain a consensus “Buy” rating with a $67.50 price target.

Bankwell Financial Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:BWFG - Get Free Report) Director Jeffrey Dunne bought 261 shares of Bankwell Financial Group stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 8th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $67.11 per share, for a total transaction of $17,515.71. Following the acquisition, the director directly owned 6,381 shares in the company, valued at approximately $428,228.91. This trade represents a 4.26% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink.

Bankwell Financial Group Trading Down 1.8%

BWFG opened at $66.16 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $527.30 million, a PE ratio of 12.37 and a beta of 0.58. 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 business has a 50 day moving average of $64.06 and a 200-day moving average of $55.75. 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 issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 23rd. The bank reported $1.52 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.29 by $0.23. The company had revenue of $32.78 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $30.63 million. Bankwell Financial Group had a return on equity of 13.94% and a net margin of 19.80%. Equities research analysts predict that Bankwell Financial Group, Inc. will post 5.7 earnings per share for the current fiscal 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 $0.20 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was 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%.

Institutional Trading of Bankwell Financial Group

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Engineers Gate Manager LP bought a new stake in Bankwell Financial Group during the 2nd quarter valued at about $211,000. Corient Private Wealth LP lifted its stake in shares of Bankwell Financial Group by 1.5% in the second quarter. Corient Private Wealth LP now owns 22,223 shares of the bank's stock worth $1,306,000 after buying an additional 320 shares in the last quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System grew its holdings in shares of Bankwell Financial Group by 1,270.8% during the second quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 4,935 shares of the bank's stock valued at $290,000 after buying an additional 4,575 shares during the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Bankwell Financial Group during the second quarter valued at approximately $1,891,000. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE bought a new stake in shares of Bankwell Financial Group during the second quarter valued at approximately $1,283,000. 35.80% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

About Bankwell Financial Group

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.