Bankwell Financial Group (NASDAQ:BWFG) Releases Earnings Results, Beats Expectations By $0.14 EPS

Bankwell Financial Group (NASDAQ:BWFG) issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday. The bank reported $1.58 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.44 by $0.14, Zacks reports. The business had revenue of $35.33 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $33.33 million. Bankwell Financial Group had a net margin of 19.80% and a return on equity of 13.94%.

Here are the key takeaways from Bankwell Financial Group’s conference call:

• Record third-quarter results: GAAP net income reached $12.7 million, or $1.58 per share, while operating net income excluding core-conversion costs was $15 million, or $1.86 per share.
• Margin and outlook improved: Net interest margin expanded 13 basis points to 3.71%, prompting the company to raise full-year net interest income guidance to $119 million-$121 million and non-interest income guidance to $14 million-$15 million.
• Credit performance strengthened: The sale of the largest legacy non-performing asset generated a $2.5 million recovery, contributing to $1.4 million of net recoveries; non-performing assets declined to 20 basis points of total assets.
• The SBA platform delivered record quarterly gain-on-sale income of $2.8 million, with management citing a robust pipeline and continued growth potential into 2027.
• Core conversion will weigh on expenses: Bankwell incurred $3 million of conversion-related costs this quarter and expects an additional $400,000-$500,000 per quarter over the next four quarters, with the conversion targeted for completion in the second half of 2027.

Bankwell Financial Group Trading Up 4.1%

Bankwell Financial Group stock opened at $69.65 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $555.11 million, a P/E ratio of 12.50 and a beta of 0.58. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $66.29 and its 200-day moving average price is $56.73. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31, a current ratio of 1.03 and a quick ratio of 1.03. Bankwell Financial Group has a 1 year low of $42.50 and a 1 year high of $70.34.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on BWFG shares. Zacks Research downgraded shares of Bankwell Financial Group from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, September 25th. Hovde Group boosted their price objective on Bankwell Financial Group from $51.00 to $63.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Monday, July 27th. Weiss Ratings lowered Bankwell Financial Group from a “buy (a)” rating to a “buy (a-)” rating in a research report on Monday. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price objective on Bankwell Financial Group from $62.00 to $72.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 28th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has given a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Bankwell Financial Group has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $67.50.

Insider Activity at Bankwell Financial Group

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

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.