Bankwell Financial Group (NASDAQ:BWFG) Lowered to Buy Rating by Wall Street Zen

Key Points

• Bankwell Financial Group (NASDAQ:BWFG) was downgraded by Wall Street Zen from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating following recent analyst assessments.
• Despite the downgrade, shares of Bankwell Financial Group traded up 1.3% to $37.39, after seeing a 1-year low of $24.83 and a high of $40.21.
• In the past quarter, insider transactions included the sale of shares by executive vice president Steven H. Brunner and Ryan Jason Hildebrand, indicating a decrease in their ownership by 34.27% and 38.46%, respectively.

Bankwell Financial Group (NASDAQ:BWFG - Get Free Report) was downgraded by equities research analysts at Wall Street Zen from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a report issued on Saturday.

Several other research firms have also recently weighed in on BWFG. Raymond James Financial initiated coverage on Bankwell Financial Group in a report on Thursday, June 26th. They set a "market perform" rating on the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price target on Bankwell Financial Group from $40.00 to $42.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday, April 28th. Finally, Hovde Group upgraded Bankwell Financial Group to a "hold" rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $35.00 to $38.50 in a report on Monday, June 23rd.

Bankwell Financial Group Price Performance

Bankwell Financial Group stock traded down $0.42 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $39.40. The company's stock had a trading volume of 26,058 shares, compared to its average volume of 24,975. Bankwell Financial Group has a 52 week low of $24.83 and a 52 week high of $41.13. The company has a current ratio of 1.05, a quick ratio of 1.05 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $36.22 and a 200-day moving average price of $32.78. The stock has a market cap of $310.08 million, a PE ratio of 15.27 and a beta of 0.66.

Bankwell Financial Group (NASDAQ:BWFG - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, July 28th. The bank reported $1.15 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.87 by $0.28. The company had revenue of $47.14 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $24.20 million. Bankwell Financial Group had a return on equity of 7.52% and a net margin of 10.27%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Ryan Jason Hildebrand sold 1,282 shares of Bankwell Financial Group stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $36.86, for a total value of $47,254.52. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 2,051 shares of the company's stock, valued at $75,599.86. The trade was a 38.46% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Steven H. Brunner sold 807 shares of Bankwell Financial Group stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $33.36, for a total value of $26,921.52. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 1,548 shares in the company, valued at approximately $51,641.28. This represents a 34.27% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders purchased 1,306 shares of company stock worth $46,585 and sold 2,478 shares worth $88,410. 19.48% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Bankwell Financial Group

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its stake in shares of Bankwell Financial Group by 3,002.9% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,086 shares of the bank's stock worth $36,000 after acquiring an additional 1,051 shares during the period. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC lifted its stake in Bankwell Financial Group by 655.6% in the fourth quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 1,564 shares of the bank's stock valued at $49,000 after buying an additional 1,357 shares during the period. Deutsche Bank AG acquired a new position in Bankwell Financial Group in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $104,000. Strs Ohio acquired a new position in Bankwell Financial Group in the first quarter valued at approximately $148,000. Finally, Trexquant Investment LP acquired a new position in Bankwell Financial Group in the first quarter valued at approximately $204,000. 35.80% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Bankwell Financial Group Company Profile

Bankwell Financial Group, Inc operates as the bank holding company for Bankwell Bank that provides various banking services for individual and commercial customers. It offers various traditional depository products, including checking, savings, money market, and certificates of deposit. The company also provides first mortgage loans secured by one-to-four family owner occupied residential properties for personal use; home equity loans and home equity lines of credit secured by owner occupied one-to-four family residential properties; loans secured by commercial real estate, multi-family dwellings, owner-occupied commercial real estate, and investor-owned one-to-four family dwellings; commercial construction loans for commercial development projects, including apartment buildings and condominiums, as well as office buildings, retail, and other income producing properties; land loans; commercial business loans secured by assignments of corporate assets and personal guarantees of the business owners; loans to finance insurance premiums; overdraft lines of credit; and unsecured personal loans.