Short Interest in Bankwell Financial Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:BWFG) Decreases By 9.4%

Bankwell Financial Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:BWFG) was the target of a significant decline in short interest in September. As of September 30th, there was short interest totalling 98,300 shares, a decline of 9.4% from the September 15th total of 108,500 shares. Currently, 1.7% of the company’s shares are short sold. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 15,700 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 6.3 days.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Separately, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $34.00 price objective on shares of Bankwell Financial Group in a research note on Wednesday.

Bankwell Financial Group Trading Up 0.8 %

BWFG stock traded up $0.23 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $29.84. 16,234 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 13,357. Bankwell Financial Group has a fifty-two week low of $22.47 and a fifty-two week high of $31.09. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $28.81 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $26.13. The company has a market capitalization of $235.68 million, a P/E ratio of 7.76 and a beta of 0.83. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60, a current ratio of 1.06 and a quick ratio of 1.06.

Bankwell Financial Group (NASDAQ:BWFG) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 24th. The bank reported $0.14 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.10 by $0.04. Bankwell Financial Group had a net margin of 11.76% and a return on equity of 8.76%. The firm had revenue of $48.36 million during the quarter.

Bankwell Financial Group Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 23rd. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 12th were issued a $0.20 dividend. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.68%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 12th. Bankwell Financial Group’s dividend payout ratio is presently 20.83%.

Insider Transactions at Bankwell Financial Group

In other Bankwell Financial Group news, EVP Christine Chivily sold 1,815 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $27.88, for a total value of $50,602.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 14,449 shares in the company, valued at approximately $402,838.12. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In other Bankwell Financial Group news, EVP Christine Chivily sold 1,815 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $27.88, for a total value of $50,602.20. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 14,449 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $402,838.12. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Kevin D. Leitao acquired 2,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 29th. The shares were bought at an average price of $26.83 per share, for a total transaction of $67,075.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now owns 2,500 shares in the company, valued at approximately $67,075. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders bought a total of 2,691 shares of company stock worth $72,620 over the last ninety days. 19.20% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Bankwell Financial Group

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Bankwell Financial Group by 0.6% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 329,246 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $8,541,000 after purchasing an additional 1,933 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its stake in shares of Bankwell Financial Group by 0.3% during the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 279,867 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $7,100,000 after acquiring an additional 755 shares in the last quarter. GM Advisory Group LLC increased its position in shares of Bankwell Financial Group by 7.7% during the second quarter. GM Advisory Group LLC now owns 89,154 shares of the bank’s stock worth $2,262,000 after acquiring an additional 6,341 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its stake in shares of Bankwell Financial Group by 6.2% in the second quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 28,548 shares of the bank’s stock worth $724,000 after acquiring an additional 1,676 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Empowered Funds LLC boosted its holdings in Bankwell Financial Group by 7.6% in the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 17,444 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $452,000 after purchasing an additional 1,225 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 35.80% of the company’s stock.

About Bankwell Financial Group

Bankwell Financial Group, Inc operates as the bank holding company for Bankwell Bank that provides various banking services for individual and commercial customers. It offers various traditional depository products, including checking, savings, money market, and certificates of deposit. The company also provides first mortgage loans secured by one-to-four family owner occupied residential properties for personal use; home equity loans and home equity lines of credit secured by owner occupied one-to-four family residential properties; loans secured by commercial real estate, multi-family dwellings, owner-occupied commercial real estate, and investor-owned one-to-four family dwellings; commercial construction loans for commercial development projects, including apartment buildings and condominiums, as well as office buildings, retail, and other income producing properties; land loans; commercial business loans secured by assignments of corporate assets and personal guarantees of the business owners; loans to finance insurance premiums; overdraft lines of credit; and unsecured personal loans.