Zacks Research Upgrades Bankwell Financial Group (NASDAQ:BWFG) to Strong-Buy

Bankwell Financial Group (NASDAQ:BWFG) was upgraded by equities research analysts at Zacks Research from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a note issued to investors on Monday, Zacks reports.

BWFG has been the subject of a number of other research reports. Hovde Group upped their target price 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. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $79.00 price objective (up from $72.00) on shares of Bankwell Financial Group in a research report on Friday, October 30th. Finally, Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of Bankwell Financial Group from a “buy (a)” rating to a “buy (a-)” rating in a research report on Monday, October 26th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has assigned a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $71.00.

Bankwell Financial Group Stock Down 1.7%

Shares of NASDAQ:BWFG opened at $71.68 on Monday. Bankwell Financial Group has a 1 year low of $42.67 and a 1 year high of $73.56. The company has a market cap of $571.29 million, a PE ratio of 12.66 and a beta of 0.58. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31, a current ratio of 1.03 and a quick ratio of 1.03. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $66.63 and its 200 day moving average is $57.11.

Bankwell Financial Group (NASDAQ:BWFG) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 29th. The bank reported $1.58 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.44 by $0.14. The business had revenue of $35.33 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $33.33 million. Bankwell Financial Group had a return on equity of 14.58% and a net margin of 20.49%. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Bankwell Financial Group will post 6.12 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Lawrence Seidman bought 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 7th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $66.63 per share, with a total value of $666,300.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 222,690 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $14,837,834.70. The trade was a 4.70% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Eric Dale bought 530 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 8th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $67.11 per share, with a total value of $35,568.30. Following the purchase, the director owned 43,026 shares in the company, valued at $2,887,474.86. This trade represents a 1.25% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have acquired a total of 19,040 shares of company stock worth $1,269,057 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 20.98% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Bankwell Financial Group

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in BWFG. Empowered Funds LLC bought a new position in shares of Bankwell Financial Group in the 2nd quarter worth about $1,891,000. Sei Investments Co. lifted its position in Bankwell Financial Group by 111.4% during the 1st quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 41,342 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $2,006,000 after acquiring an additional 21,786 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp bought a new stake in Bankwell Financial Group during the second quarter worth about $1,377,000. Bank of America Corp DE bought a new stake in Bankwell Financial Group during the second quarter worth about $1,283,000. Finally, Corient Private Wealth LP bought a new stake in Bankwell Financial Group during the second quarter worth about $1,287,000. Institutional investors own 35.80% of the company’s stock.

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.