Bankwell Financial Group, Inc. to Issue Quarterly Dividend of $0.20 (NASDAQ:BWFG)

Bankwell Financial Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:BWFG) announced a quarterly dividend on Thursday, July 23rd. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 10th will be paid a dividend of 0.20 per share by the bank on Friday, August 21st. This represents a c) annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, August 10th.

Bankwell Financial Group has increased its dividend payment by an average of 0.1%annually over the last three years. Bankwell Financial Group has a payout ratio of 16.6% indicating that its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Research analysts expect Bankwell Financial Group to earn $5.60 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $0.80 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 14.3%.

Bankwell Financial Group Stock Up 1.8%

Shares of NASDAQ:BWFG traded up $1.07 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $60.57. 215,561 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 49,703. Bankwell Financial Group has a fifty-two week low of $36.22 and a fifty-two week high of $61.86. The company has a quick ratio of 1.05, a current ratio of 1.05 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $55.78 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $51.35. The firm has a market cap of $482.74 million, a PE ratio of 12.16 and a beta of 0.61.

Bankwell Financial Group (NASDAQ:BWFG) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, July 23rd. The bank reported $1.52 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.29 by $0.23. The firm had revenue of $32.78 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $30.63 million. Bankwell Financial Group had a net margin of 18.71% and a return on equity of 13.31%. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Bankwell Financial Group will post 5.35 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity at Bankwell Financial Group

In other Bankwell Financial Group news, Director Eric J. Dale acquired 588 shares of Bankwell Financial Group stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 5th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $53.70 per share, for a total transaction of $31,575.60. Following the purchase, the director directly owned 42,496 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,282,035.20. This represents a 1.40% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Ryan Jason Hildebrand sold 1,088 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $58.48, for a total value of $63,626.24. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 2,246 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $131,346.08. The trade was a 32.63% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last 90 days, insiders acquired 7,156 shares of company stock worth $370,525 and sold 8,909 shares worth $476,575. Corporate insiders own 20.98% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Bankwell Financial Group

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in BWFG. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in Bankwell Financial Group by 3.9% in the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 366,963 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $16,238,000 after acquiring an additional 13,823 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its stake in shares of Bankwell Financial Group by 1.5% during the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 319,241 shares of the bank’s stock worth $15,489,000 after acquiring an additional 4,795 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Bankwell Financial Group by 5.4% during the 2nd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 159,384 shares of the bank’s stock worth $5,744,000 after acquiring an additional 8,178 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp increased its holdings in shares of Bankwell Financial Group by 5.6% during the 4th quarter. State Street Corp now owns 115,711 shares of the bank’s stock worth $5,302,000 after acquiring an additional 6,138 shares during the last quarter. Finally, GM Advisory Group LLC raised its stake in Bankwell Financial Group by 0.4% in the 1st quarter. GM Advisory Group LLC now owns 106,498 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $5,167,000 after acquiring an additional 439 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 35.80% of the company’s stock.

About Bankwell Financial Group

Bankwell Financial Group, Inc is a bank holding company headquartered in New Canaan, Connecticut, and serves as the parent company of Bankwell Bank. Bankwell Bank provides commercial, business and personal banking services, with branch locations primarily across Fairfield and New Haven counties in Connecticut, along with a New York presence.

The company’s deposit offerings include checking, savings and money market accounts, as well as certificates of deposit, all supported by an online and mobile banking platform for convenient account access.