Bankwell Financial Group (NASDAQ:BWFG) Sees Strong Trading Volume - Still a Buy?

Key Points

• Analysts remain broadly positive: Bankwell Financial Group has a consensus “Buy” rating and an average price target of $67.50, with recent upgrades including a “Strong Buy” rating from Zacks Research and a $72 target from Keefe, Bruyette & Woods.
• Quarterly results beat expectations: The bank reported earnings of $1.52 per share versus the $1.29 consensus estimate, while revenue reached $32.78 million compared with expectations of $30.63 million.
• Shares traded lower amid elevated volume: BWFG last traded at $66.78, down 0.8% from the prior close, while 36,508 shares changed hands. The company also pays a quarterly dividend of $0.20, equivalent to an annualized yield of about 1.2%.

Shares of Bankwell Financial Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:BWFG - Get Free Report) saw unusually-strong trading volume on Tuesday . 36,508 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 29% from the previous session's volume of 51,657 shares.The stock last traded at $66.7790 and had previously closed at $67.39.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

Bankwell Financial Group Trading Down 0.8%

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 company has a market cap of $532.87 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.50 and a beta of 0.58. The company's fifty day moving average is $63.91 and its two-hundred day moving average is $55.63.

Bankwell Financial Group (NASDAQ:BWFG - Get Free Report) last issued its 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. The firm had revenue of $32.78 million during 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%. On average, 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 issued 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 yield of 1.2%. Bankwell Financial Group's payout ratio is presently 14.95%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Ryan Hildebrand sold 2,246 shares of Bankwell Financial Group stock in a transaction on Friday, July 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $66.74, for a total transaction of $149,898.04. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director Lawrence B. Seidman acquired 2,540 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the director directly owned 223,684 shares in the company, valued at $14,745,249.28. This trade represents a 1.15% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase is available in the SEC filing. 20.98% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Bankwell Financial Group

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Empowered Funds LLC grew its holdings in Bankwell Financial Group by 3.4% in the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 21,262 shares of the bank's stock valued at $642,000 after purchasing an additional 702 shares during the last quarter. Jane Street Group LLC acquired a new position in Bankwell Financial Group in the 1st quarter valued at $250,000. Strs Ohio acquired a new position in Bankwell Financial Group in the 1st quarter valued at $148,000. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Bankwell Financial Group by 5.4% during the 2nd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 159,384 shares of the bank's stock worth $5,744,000 after purchasing an additional 8,178 shares during the period. Finally, Rhumbline Advisers boosted its holdings in shares of Bankwell Financial Group by 15.2% during the second quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 10,119 shares of the bank's stock worth $365,000 after purchasing an additional 1,335 shares during the last quarter. 35.80% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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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