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

Bankwell Financial Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:BWFG) was the target of a significant decline in short interest in the month of October. As of October 31st, there was short interest totalling 92,900 shares, a decline of 12.4% from the October 15th total of 106,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 14,900 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 6.2 days. Currently, 1.6% of the shares of the stock are sold short.

Analyst Ratings Changes

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

Insider Activity at Bankwell Financial Group

In related 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 value of $50,602.20. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 14,449 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $402,838.12. The trade was a 11.16 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 19.20% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Bankwell Financial Group

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of BWFG. BNP Paribas Financial Markets lifted its holdings in Bankwell Financial Group by 119.9% in the first quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 2,901 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $75,000 after buying an additional 1,582 shares during the period. Empowered Funds LLC lifted 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 buying an additional 1,225 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in 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 buying an additional 1,933 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its holdings in 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 valued at $724,000 after buying an additional 1,676 shares during the period. Finally, Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC lifted its holdings in Bankwell Financial Group by 42.3% in the second quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 4,875 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $124,000 after buying an additional 1,449 shares during the period. 35.80% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Bankwell Financial Group Price Performance

Bankwell Financial Group stock traded down $0.41 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $32.25. 24,830 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 13,587. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59, a quick ratio of 1.06 and a current ratio of 1.06. The stock has a market capitalization of $253.49 million, a P/E ratio of 16.54 and a beta of 0.83. Bankwell Financial Group has a 12 month low of $22.47 and a 12 month high of $33.17. The business’s 50-day moving average is $29.85 and its two-hundred day moving average is $26.97.

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

Bankwell Financial Group Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 22nd. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 11th will be paid a dividend of $0.20 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 8th. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.48%. Bankwell Financial Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 41.03%.

Bankwell Financial Group Company Profile

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.