Bridgewater Bancshares (NASDAQ:BWB) Sees Large Volume Increase – Should You Buy?

Bridgewater Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:BWB) saw an uptick in trading volume on Friday . 221,525 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, an increase of 183% from the previous session’s volume of 78,274 shares.The stock last traded at $19.8750 and had previously closed at $19.72.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have recently commented on BWB. Weiss Ratings upgraded Bridgewater Bancshares from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research report on Monday, May 4th. DA Davidson restated a “buy” rating and issued a $22.00 price objective on shares of Bridgewater Bancshares in a research report on Wednesday, April 22nd. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $21.67.

Bridgewater Bancshares Price Performance

The company has a quick ratio of 1.06, a current ratio of 1.06 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96. The company has a 50-day moving average of $18.64 and a 200 day moving average of $18.38. The stock has a market capitalization of $556.90 million, a PE ratio of 11.29 and a beta of 0.58.

Bridgewater Bancshares (NASDAQ:BWB) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, April 21st. The company reported $0.41 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.42 by ($0.01). The company had revenue of $38.96 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $36.93 million. Bridgewater Bancshares had a net margin of 17.69% and a return on equity of 11.06%. Sell-side analysts predict that Bridgewater Bancshares, Inc. will post 1.85 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Bridgewater Bancshares news, CFO Joseph M. Chybowski sold 7,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, June 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $18.96, for a total value of $132,720.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 118,501 shares in the company, valued at $2,246,778.96. This represents a 5.58% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, COO Lisa M. Salazar sold 4,162 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, May 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $18.55, for a total value of $77,205.10. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer owned 36,077 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $669,228.35. The trade was a 10.34% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold 62,375 shares of company stock worth $1,161,104 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 23.10% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Bridgewater Bancshares

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in BWB. Alliancebernstein L.P. grew its holdings in Bridgewater Bancshares by 181.8% in the 3rd quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 1,282,210 shares of the company’s stock valued at $22,567,000 after buying an additional 827,141 shares in the last quarter. Hodges Capital Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Bridgewater Bancshares in the 4th quarter valued at $3,862,000. Ancora Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Bridgewater Bancshares in the 3rd quarter valued at $3,426,000. Hillsdale Investment Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Bridgewater Bancshares in the 3rd quarter valued at $2,690,000. Finally, Curi Capital LLC acquired a new position in shares of Bridgewater Bancshares in the 2nd quarter valued at $2,029,000. 65.83% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Bridgewater Bancshares Company Profile

Bridgewater Bancshares, Inc is the bank holding company for Bridgewater Bank, a New Jersey-chartered community bank founded in 2006. Headquartered in Bridgewater, New Jersey, the company provides a broad array of financial services designed to meet the needs of both individual and business customers. As a locally focused institution, Bridgewater Bancshares emphasizes relationship banking, combining personalized service with the efficiency of modern banking technologies.

The company’s retail banking platform offers checking and savings accounts, certificates of deposit, money market accounts and consumer loan products.