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

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

Bankwell Financial Group Stock Performance

Bankwell Financial Group stock traded up $0.53 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $30.05. 17,154 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 13,249. The company has a quick ratio of 1.06, a current ratio of 1.06 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59. Bankwell Financial Group has a one year low of $22.47 and a one year high of $35.25. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $31.63 and a 200 day moving average price of $29.27. The company has a market cap of $236.19 million, a PE ratio of 15.41 and a beta of 0.88.

Bankwell Financial Group (NASDAQ:BWFG) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, October 28th. The bank reported $0.24 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.08) by $0.32. The business had revenue of $49.35 million for the quarter. Bankwell Financial Group had a net margin of 7.77% and a return on equity of 5.74%.

Bankwell Financial Group Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 22nd. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 11th were paid a $0.20 dividend. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.66%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 8th. Bankwell Financial Group’s dividend payout ratio is currently 41.03%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Bankwell Financial Group

In other news, EVP Steven H. Brunner sold 1,330 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $32.98, for a total transaction of $43,863.40. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 3,002 shares in the company, valued at approximately $99,005.96. This represents a 30.70 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Darryl Demos acquired 2,290 shares of Bankwell Financial Group stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, December 13th. The shares were bought at an average price of $32.61 per share, with a total value of $74,676.90. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 8,156 shares in the company, valued at approximately $265,967.16. This trade represents a 39.04 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders have purchased 2,975 shares of company stock worth $97,217 in the last ninety days. 19.20% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Barclays PLC boosted its stake in Bankwell Financial Group by 47.7% during the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 20,781 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $623,000 after purchasing an additional 6,710 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Bankwell Financial Group by 3.8% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 147,342 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $4,413,000 after buying an additional 5,438 shares during the period. SeaCrest Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Bankwell Financial Group during the fourth quarter valued at about $624,000. State Street Corp grew its holdings in Bankwell Financial Group by 0.6% during the third 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. Finally, BNP Paribas Financial Markets raised its position in Bankwell Financial Group by 60.9% in the third quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 1,890 shares of the bank’s stock worth $57,000 after acquiring an additional 715 shares in 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.