JPMorgan Chase & Co. Boosts Position in Bankwell Financial Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:BWFG)

JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its position in Bankwell Financial Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:BWFG) by 164.5% in the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 11,638 shares of the bank’s stock after acquiring an additional 7,238 shares during the quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. owned about 0.15% of Bankwell Financial Group worth $349,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its position in Bankwell Financial Group by 0.3% during the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 279,867 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $7,100,000 after purchasing an additional 755 shares during the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC raised its holdings in shares of 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 buying an additional 938 shares in the last quarter. GM Advisory Group LLC lifted its position in Bankwell Financial Group by 0.7% in the 3rd quarter. GM Advisory Group LLC now owns 89,807 shares of the bank’s stock worth $2,690,000 after buying an additional 653 shares during the last quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets grew its position in Bankwell Financial Group by 60.9% during the third 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 during the last quarter. Finally, Fourthstone LLC bought a new stake in Bankwell Financial Group in the third quarter worth $776,000. 35.80% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Bankwell Financial Group Stock Performance

Shares of BWFG stock opened at $31.25 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.06, a current ratio of 1.06 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $31.34 and a 200 day moving average of $29.63. The firm has a market capitalization of $245.59 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.48 and a beta of 0.88. Bankwell Financial Group, Inc. has a 52 week low of $22.47 and a 52 week high of $35.25.

Bankwell Financial Group (NASDAQ:BWFG) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 22nd. The bank reported $0.32 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.65 by ($0.33). Bankwell Financial Group had a return on equity of 3.48% and a net margin of 4.76%.

Bankwell Financial Group Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 21st. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 11th will be given a dividend of $0.20 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, February 11th. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.56%. 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 Bankwell Financial Group from $36.00 to $40.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Steven H. Brunner sold 1,330 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 3,002 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $99,005.96. This represents a 30.70 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Darryl Demos bought 2,290 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, December 13th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $32.61 per share, for a total transaction of $74,676.90. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now owns 8,156 shares in the company, valued at approximately $265,967.16. The trade was a 39.04 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders acquired 4,975 shares of company stock worth $157,977. Insiders own 19.20% 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.