Bankwell Financial Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:BWFG) Short Interest Update

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

Bankwell Financial Group Price Performance

NASDAQ:BWFG traded down $0.02 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $31.16. 13,654 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 14,803. Bankwell Financial Group has a twelve month low of $22.47 and a twelve month high of $35.25. The firm has a market cap of $244.89 million, a PE ratio of 26.41 and a beta of 0.88. 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 stock’s 50-day moving average is $31.21 and its 200-day moving average is $29.77.

Bankwell Financial Group (NASDAQ:BWFG) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, January 22nd. The bank reported $0.32 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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 announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 21st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 11th will be paid a $0.20 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, February 11th. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.57%. Bankwell Financial Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 67.80%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Darryl Demos purchased 2,290 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, December 13th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $32.61 per share, with a total value of $74,676.90. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now owns 8,156 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $265,967.16. This trade represents a 39.04 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Kevin D. Leitao acquired 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 27th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $30.38 per share, for a total transaction of $60,760.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 4,500 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $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 bought a total of 4,975 shares of company stock valued at $157,977 in the last quarter. Insiders own 19.20% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Bankwell Financial Group

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of BWFG. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its stake in Bankwell Financial Group by 0.3% in the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 279,867 shares of the bank’s stock worth $7,100,000 after acquiring an additional 755 shares during the period. Empowered Funds LLC boosted its stake in Bankwell Financial Group by 5.0% during the 3rd quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 19,642 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $588,000 after purchasing an additional 938 shares in the last quarter. GM Advisory Group LLC boosted its position in shares of Bankwell Financial Group by 0.7% in the 3rd 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 grew its stake in Bankwell Financial Group by 60.9% during the 3rd quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 1,890 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $57,000 after acquiring an additional 715 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Fourthstone LLC bought a new stake in shares of Bankwell Financial Group in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $776,000. 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.