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

Bankwell Financial Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:BWFG) was the target of a large growth in short interest in the month of October. As of October 15th, there was short interest totalling 106,000 shares, a growth of 7.8% from the September 30th total of 98,300 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 14,400 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 7.4 days. Currently, 1.8% of the company’s shares are sold short.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Separately, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $34.00 price target on shares of Bankwell Financial Group in a report on Wednesday, October 16th.

Insider Activity at Bankwell Financial Group

In other Bankwell Financial Group news, EVP Christine Chivily sold 1,815 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $27.88, for a total transaction of $50,602.20. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 14,449 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $402,838.12. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 19.20% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of BWFG. BNP Paribas Financial Markets increased its position in Bankwell Financial Group by 119.9% during the first quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 2,901 shares of the bank’s stock worth $75,000 after buying an additional 1,582 shares during the last quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC raised its stake in shares of Bankwell Financial Group by 42.3% in the 2nd quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 4,875 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $124,000 after acquiring an additional 1,449 shares in the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC lifted its holdings in Bankwell Financial Group by 7.6% in the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 17,444 shares of the bank’s stock worth $452,000 after purchasing an additional 1,225 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its position in Bankwell Financial Group by 6.2% during the second quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 28,548 shares of the bank’s stock worth $724,000 after purchasing an additional 1,676 shares during the period. Finally, GM Advisory Group LLC grew its holdings in Bankwell Financial Group by 0.8% during the first quarter. GM Advisory Group LLC now owns 82,813 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $2,148,000 after purchasing an additional 640 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 35.80% of the company’s stock.

Bankwell Financial Group Stock Down 0.5 %

BWFG stock traded down $0.15 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $28.51. The company had a trading volume of 16,116 shares, compared to its average volume of 13,186. The company has a 50 day moving average of $29.38 and a two-hundred day moving average of $26.42. The company has a market capitalization of $224.00 million, a P/E ratio of 7.49 and a beta of 0.83. Bankwell Financial Group has a 1 year low of $22.47 and a 1 year high of $31.09. The company has a current ratio of 1.06, a quick ratio of 1.06 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60.

Bankwell Financial Group (NASDAQ:BWFG) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, October 28th. The bank reported $0.24 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.08) by $0.32. Bankwell Financial Group had a return on equity of 8.76% and a net margin of 11.76%. The business had revenue of $49.35 million during the quarter.

Bankwell Financial Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 22nd. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 11th will be given a $0.20 dividend. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.81%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 8th. Bankwell Financial Group’s dividend payout ratio is 20.83%.

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.