Bankwell Financial Group (NASDAQ:BWFG) Raised to “Strong-Buy” at Zacks Research

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

Other analysts also recently issued reports about the stock. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Bankwell Financial Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Sunday, May 3rd. Hovde Group boosted their price objective on shares of Bankwell Financial Group from $51.00 to $63.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Monday. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price objective on shares of Bankwell Financial Group from $62.00 to $72.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Finally, Weiss Ratings lowered shares of Bankwell Financial Group from a “buy (b+)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 24th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have issued a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Bankwell Financial Group currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $67.50.

Bankwell Financial Group Stock Up 3.9%

Shares of BWFG stock opened at $66.86 on Monday. Bankwell Financial Group has a 12 month low of $38.25 and a 12 month high of $67.02. The company has a quick ratio of 1.05, a current ratio of 1.05 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42. The firm has a market cap of $532.87 million, a PE ratio of 12.50 and a beta of 0.61. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $56.78 and a 200-day moving average of $51.83.

Bankwell Financial Group (NASDAQ:BWFG) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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. Bankwell Financial Group had a net margin of 19.80% and a return on equity of 14.19%. The business had revenue of $32.78 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $30.63 million. On average, equities analysts predict that Bankwell Financial Group will post 5.7 EPS for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Bankwell Financial Group news, Director Todd Lampert sold 3,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, June 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $53.59, for a total value of $187,565.00. Following the sale, the director owned 12,366 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $662,693.94. The trade was a 22.06% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Lawrence B. Seidman acquired 3,300 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 1st. The stock was acquired at an average price of $51.87 per share, with a total value of $171,171.00. Following the purchase, the director owned 218,756 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,346,873.72. This represents a 1.53% increase in their position. The SEC filing for this purchase provides additional information. In the last ninety days, insiders acquired 7,156 shares of company stock valued at $370,525 and sold 8,909 shares valued at $476,575. Company insiders own 20.98% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Bankwell Financial Group

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Bank of America Corp DE increased its stake in Bankwell Financial Group by 25.1% in the first quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 14,598 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $708,000 after acquiring an additional 2,933 shares during the period. Empowered Funds LLC lifted its stake in Bankwell Financial Group by 9.9% during the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 29,942 shares of the bank’s stock worth $1,453,000 after purchasing an additional 2,689 shares during the period. Sei Investments Co. lifted its stake in Bankwell Financial Group by 111.4% during the first quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 41,342 shares of the bank’s stock worth $2,006,000 after purchasing an additional 21,786 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its holdings in Bankwell Financial Group by 1.5% during the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 319,241 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $15,489,000 after purchasing an additional 4,795 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Assetmark Inc. acquired a new stake in Bankwell Financial Group during the first quarter valued at approximately $146,000. 35.80% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Bankwell Financial Group

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.