Bankwell Financial Group (NASDAQ:BWFG) Reaches New 1-Year High – Time to Buy?

Posted by Stanley Muller on Nov 6th, 2026

Bankwell Financial Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:BWFG – Get Free Report) shares reached a new 52-week high during trading on Wednesday. The company traded as high as $73.74 and last traded at $73.3730, with a volume of 22,051 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $71.68.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on BWFG shares. Zacks Research raised shares of Bankwell Financial Group from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $79.00 price objective (up from $72.00) on shares of Bankwell Financial Group in a research note on Friday, October 30th. Hovde Group boosted their target price on Bankwell Financial Group from $51.00 to $63.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Monday, July 27th. Finally, Weiss Ratings lowered Bankwell Financial Group from a “buy (a)” rating to a “buy (a-)” rating in a research note on Monday, October 26th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has assigned a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Bankwell Financial Group has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $71.00.

Check Out Our Latest Stock Report on BWFG

Bankwell Financial Group Price Performance

The stock has a market capitalization of $558.86 million, a P/E ratio of 12.39 and a beta of 0.58. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31, a quick ratio of 1.03 and a current ratio of 1.03. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $66.87 and a 200 day moving average price of $57.35.

Bankwell Financial Group (NASDAQ:BWFG – Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, October 29th. The bank reported $1.58 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.44 by $0.14. The company had revenue of $35.33 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $33.33 million. Bankwell Financial Group had a return on equity of 14.58% and a net margin of 20.49%. On average, analysts expect that Bankwell Financial Group, Inc. will post 6.12 EPS for the current year.

Bankwell Financial Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 20th. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 9th will be issued a $0.20 dividend. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.1%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, November 9th. Bankwell Financial Group’s payout ratio is presently 14.13%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Bankwell Financial Group news, Director Eric J. Dale bought 530 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 8th. The shares were bought at an average price of $67.11 per share, for a total transaction of $35,568.30. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 43,026 shares in the company, valued at $2,887,474.86. This trade represents a 1.25% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Lawrence B. Seidman purchased 5,266 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 8th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $66.94 per share, with a total value of $352,506.04. Following the completion of the purchase, the director directly owned 225,640 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $15,104,341.60. The trade was a 2.39% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase is available in the SEC filing. Insiders bought a total of 9,040 shares of company stock valued at $602,757 in the last ninety days. 20.98% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of BWFG. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new position in Bankwell Financial Group in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $28,974,000. Empowered Funds LLC bought a new stake in Bankwell Financial Group in the second quarter valued at approximately $1,891,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp purchased a new stake in shares of Bankwell Financial Group during the second quarter valued at approximately $1,377,000. Corient Private Wealth LP purchased a new stake in shares of Bankwell Financial Group during the second quarter valued at approximately $1,287,000. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE bought a new position in shares of Bankwell Financial Group in the second quarter worth approximately $1,283,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 35.80% of the company’s stock.

Bankwell Financial Group Company Profile

(Get Free Report)

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.