Bankwell Financial Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:BWFG) Director Acquires $60,760.00 in Stock

Bankwell Financial Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:BWFG) Director Kevin D. Leitao purchased 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 27th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $30.38 per share, for a total transaction of $60,760.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now owns 4,500 shares in the company, valued at approximately $136,710. This trade represents a 80.00 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink.

Bankwell Financial Group Price Performance

Shares of Bankwell Financial Group stock traded up $0.20 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $30.63. 10,350 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 14,405. Bankwell Financial Group, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $22.47 and a fifty-two week high of $35.25. The company has a quick ratio of 1.06, a current ratio of 1.06 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $31.38 and a 200 day moving average price of $29.57. The stock has a market capitalization of $240.75 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.96 and a beta of 0.88.

Bankwell Financial Group (NASDAQ:BWFG) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 22nd. The bank reported $0.32 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.65 by ($0.33). Bankwell Financial Group had a return on equity of 3.48% and a net margin of 4.76%.

Bankwell Financial Group Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 21st. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 11th will be issued a $0.20 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, February 11th. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.61%. Bankwell Financial Group’s payout ratio is 67.80%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its stake in shares of Bankwell Financial Group by 0.3% in the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 279,867 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $7,100,000 after purchasing an additional 755 shares during the period. Empowered Funds LLC lifted its holdings in Bankwell Financial Group by 5.0% in the 3rd quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 19,642 shares of the bank’s stock worth $588,000 after buying an additional 938 shares in the last quarter. GM Advisory Group LLC lifted its stake in shares of Bankwell Financial Group by 0.7% in the third quarter. GM Advisory Group LLC now owns 89,807 shares of the bank’s stock worth $2,690,000 after acquiring an additional 653 shares in the last quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets boosted its stake in shares of Bankwell Financial Group by 60.9% during the 3rd quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 1,890 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $57,000 after buying an additional 715 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Fourthstone LLC bought a new stake in shares of Bankwell Financial Group in the 3rd quarter worth about $776,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 35.80% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Separately, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their target price on shares of Bankwell Financial Group from $36.00 to $40.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th.

About Bankwell Financial Group

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.