It is usually uneventful when a single insider buys stock. However, When quite a few insiders buy shares, as it happened in Bankwell Financial Group, Inc.'s (NASDAQ:BWFG) case, it's fantastic news for shareholders.

Although we don't think shareholders should simply follow insider transactions, we do think it is perfectly logical to keep tabs on what insiders are doing.

View our latest analysis for Bankwell Financial Group

The Last 12 Months Of Insider Transactions At Bankwell Financial Group

Over the last year, we can see that the biggest insider sale was by the Executive VP & Chief Credit Officer, Christine Chivily, for US$150k worth of shares, at about US$23.60 per share. That means that an insider was selling shares at slightly below the current price (US$33.00). When an insider sells below the current price, it suggests that they considered that lower price to be fair. That makes us wonder what they think of the (higher) recent valuation. Please do note, however, that sellers may have a variety of reasons for selling, so we don't know for sure what they think of the stock price. We note that the biggest single sale was only 18% of Christine Chivily's holding.

In the last twelve months insiders purchased 14.63k shares for US$393k. But insiders sold 14.46k shares worth US$358k. In the last twelve months there was more buying than selling by Bankwell Financial Group insiders. You can see a visual depiction of insider transactions (by companies and individuals) over the last 12 months, below. By clicking on the graph below, you can see the precise details of each insider transaction!

Bankwell Financial Group is not the only stock that insiders are buying. For those who like to find small cap companies at attractive valuations, this free list of growing companies with recent insider purchasing, could be just the ticket.

Bankwell Financial Group Insiders Bought Stock Recently

Over the last three months, we've seen significant insider buying at Bankwell Financial Group. In total, insiders bought US$67k worth of shares in that time, and we didn't record any sales whatsoever. This could be interpreted as suggesting a positive outlook.

Insider Ownership

Another way to test the alignment between the leaders of a company and other shareholders is to look at how many shares they own. We usually like to see fairly high levels of insider ownership. Insiders own 14% of Bankwell Financial Group shares, worth about US$35m. This level of insider ownership is good but just short of being particularly stand-out. It certainly does suggest a reasonable degree of alignment.

So What Do The Bankwell Financial Group Insider Transactions Indicate?

It is good to see recent purchasing. We also take confidence from the longer term picture of insider transactions. Given that insiders also own a fair bit of Bankwell Financial Group we think they are probably pretty confident of a bright future. So while it's helpful to know what insiders are doing in terms of buying or selling, it's also helpful to know the risks that a particular company is facing. At Simply Wall St, we found 1 warning sign for Bankwell Financial Group that deserve your attention before buying any shares.

If you would prefer to check out another company -- one with potentially superior financials -- then do not miss this free list of interesting companies, that have HIGH return on equity and low debt.

For the purposes of this article, insiders are those individuals who report their transactions to the relevant regulatory body. We currently account for open market transactions and private dispositions of direct interests only, but not derivative transactions or indirect interests.

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This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. We provide commentary based on historical data and analyst forecasts only using an unbiased methodology and our articles are not intended to be financial advice. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. We aim to bring you long-term focused analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. Simply Wall St has no position in any stocks mentioned.