Bankwell Financial Group (NASDAQ:BWFG) Sees Unusually-High Trading Volume – Here’s What Happened

Bankwell Financial Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:BWFG) saw an uptick in trading volume on Friday . 29,987 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 41% from the previous session’s volume of 50,713 shares.The stock last traded at $68.17 and had previously closed at $68.00.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on BWFG shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their target price on Bankwell Financial Group from $62.00 to $72.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 28th. Hovde Group raised their price target on shares of Bankwell Financial Group from $51.00 to $63.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Monday, July 27th. Weiss Ratings lowered shares of Bankwell Financial Group from a “buy (b+)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 24th. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Bankwell Financial Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Sunday, May 3rd. Finally, Zacks Research upgraded shares of Bankwell Financial Group from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, July 27th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have given a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Bankwell Financial Group presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $67.50.

Bankwell Financial Group Stock Up 1.3%

The company has a quick ratio of 1.03, a current ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31. The company has a market cap of $548.80 million, a P/E ratio of 12.82 and a beta of 0.59. The company has a fifty day moving average of $60.43 and a 200 day moving average of $53.52.

Bankwell Financial Group (NASDAQ:BWFG) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, July 23rd. The bank reported $1.52 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.29 by $0.23. The company had revenue of $32.78 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $30.63 million. Bankwell Financial Group had a return on equity of 13.94% and a net margin of 19.80%. On average, research analysts anticipate that Bankwell Financial Group, Inc. will post 5.7 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Bankwell Financial Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 21st. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 10th will be paid a $0.20 dividend. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.2%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, August 10th. Bankwell Financial Group’s dividend payout ratio is 14.95%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Bankwell Financial Group

In related news, Director Todd Lampert sold 3,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the director owned 12,366 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $662,693.94. This trade represents a 22.06% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Ryan Jason Hildebrand sold 2,246 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, July 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $66.74, for a total transaction of $149,898.04. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last ninety days, insiders purchased 15,056 shares of company stock worth $931,626 and sold 6,834 shares worth $401,089. 20.98% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Bankwell Financial Group

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of BWFG. Empowered Funds LLC raised its holdings in Bankwell Financial Group by 3.4% in the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 21,262 shares of the bank’s stock worth $642,000 after purchasing an additional 702 shares during the period. Jane Street Group LLC purchased a new stake in Bankwell Financial Group in the first quarter worth about $250,000. Strs Ohio purchased a new stake in Bankwell Financial Group in the first quarter worth about $148,000. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Bankwell Financial Group by 5.4% in the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 159,384 shares of the bank’s stock worth $5,744,000 after buying an additional 8,178 shares during the period. Finally, Rhumbline Advisers raised its stake in shares of Bankwell Financial Group by 15.2% in the second quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 10,119 shares of the bank’s stock worth $365,000 after buying an additional 1,335 shares during the period. 35.80% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.