Bankwell Financial Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:BWFG) Sees Significant Growth in Short Interest

Bankwell Financial Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:BWFG) was the recipient of a significant growth in short interest in 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 shares of the company are short sold. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 15,600 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 6.6 days.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Separately, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their target price 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 Transactions at Bankwell Financial Group

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

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Bankwell Financial Group

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. SeaCrest Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Bankwell Financial Group during the 4th quarter worth approximately $624,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its position in Bankwell Financial Group by 164.5% in the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 11,638 shares of the bank’s stock worth $349,000 after purchasing an additional 7,238 shares during the last quarter. Barclays PLC raised its stake in Bankwell Financial Group by 47.7% during the third 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 position in Bankwell Financial Group by 3.8% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 147,342 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $4,413,000 after purchasing an additional 5,438 shares during the last quarter. Finally, State Street Corp grew its stake 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 buying an additional 500 shares in the last quarter. 35.80% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Bankwell Financial Group Price Performance

BWFG traded up $0.53 during trading on Friday, reaching $30.05. 17,154 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 13,249. Bankwell Financial Group has a 12-month low of $22.47 and a 12-month high of $35.25. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $31.63 and a 200 day simple moving average of $29.27. 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 company has a market cap of $236.19 million, a P/E ratio of 15.41 and a beta of 0.88.

Bankwell Financial Group (NASDAQ:BWFG) last posted its earnings results on Monday, October 28th. The bank reported $0.24 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.08) by $0.32. The company had revenue of $49.35 million during 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 company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 22nd. Investors of record on Monday, November 11th were given a $0.20 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 8th. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.66%. Bankwell Financial Group’s dividend payout ratio is currently 41.03%.

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.