Bankwell Financial Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:BWFG) Short Interest Up 10.5% in January

Bankwell Financial Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:BWFG) was the recipient of a large growth in short interest in the month of January. As of January 15th, there was short interest totalling 103,000 shares, a growth of 10.5% from the December 31st total of 93,200 shares. Approximately 1.7% of the shares of the stock are short sold. Based on an average trading volume of 15,600 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 6.6 days.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Separately, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price objective on Bankwell Financial Group from $36.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Steven H. Brunner sold 1,330 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $32.98, for a total value of $43,863.40. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 3,002 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $99,005.96. This trade represents a 30.70 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Kevin D. Leitao purchased 2,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, January 27th. The shares were bought at an average price of $30.38 per share, for a total transaction of $60,760.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 4,500 shares in the company, valued at $136,710. This represents a 80.00 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders have acquired 4,975 shares of company stock worth $157,977 in the last ninety days. Company insiders own 19.20% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Bankwell Financial Group

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. State Street Corp increased its holdings in shares of Bankwell Financial Group by 0.6% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 78,017 shares of the bank’s stock worth $2,337,000 after acquiring an additional 500 shares during the period. GM Advisory Group LLC increased its stake in shares of Bankwell Financial Group by 0.7% in the third quarter. GM Advisory Group LLC now owns 89,807 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $2,690,000 after purchasing an additional 653 shares during the period. BNP Paribas Financial Markets increased its stake in shares of Bankwell Financial Group by 60.9% in the third quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 1,890 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $57,000 after purchasing an additional 715 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its holdings 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 buying an additional 755 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Empowered Funds LLC boosted its position in shares of Bankwell Financial Group by 4.7% during the fourth quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 20,560 shares of the bank’s stock worth $640,000 after buying an additional 918 shares during the period. 35.80% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Bankwell Financial Group Trading Down 0.1 %

BWFG traded down $0.02 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $31.16. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 13,654 shares, compared to its average volume of 14,803. Bankwell Financial Group has a 52-week low of $22.47 and a 52-week high of $35.25. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $31.21 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $29.77. The company has a current ratio of 1.06, a quick ratio of 1.06 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59. The firm has a market cap of $244.89 million, a P/E ratio of 26.41 and a beta of 0.88.

Bankwell Financial Group (NASDAQ:BWFG) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, January 22nd. The bank reported $0.32 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.65 by ($0.33). Bankwell Financial Group had a net margin of 4.76% and a return on equity of 3.48%.

Bankwell Financial Group Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 21st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 11th will be given a dividend of $0.20 per share. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.57%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, February 11th. Bankwell Financial Group’s payout ratio is currently 67.80%.

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.