While institutions invested in Bankwell Financial Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:BWFG) benefited from last week's 10% gain, individual investors stood to gain the most

Key Insights

• Significant control over Bankwell Financial Group by individual investors implies that the general public has more power to influence management and governance-related decisions
• A total of 18 investors have a majority stake in the company with 50% ownership
• Insiders have sold recently

To get a sense of who is truly in control of Bankwell Financial Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:BWFG), it is important to understand the ownership structure of the business. We can see that individual investors own the lion's share in the company with 37% ownership. Put another way, the group faces the maximum upside potential (or downside risk).

Following a 10% increase in the stock price last week, individual investors profited the most, but institutions who own 36% stock also stood to gain from the increase.

In the chart below, we zoom in on the different ownership groups of Bankwell Financial Group.

Check out our latest analysis for Bankwell Financial Group

What Does The Institutional Ownership Tell Us About Bankwell Financial Group?

Many institutions measure their performance against an index that approximates the local market. So they usually pay more attention to companies that are included in major indices.

We can see that Bankwell Financial Group does have institutional investors; and they hold a good portion of the company's stock. This suggests some credibility amongst professional investors. But we can't rely on that fact alone since institutions make bad investments sometimes, just like everyone does. It is not uncommon to see a big share price drop if two large institutional investors try to sell out of a stock at the same time. So it is worth checking the past earnings trajectory of Bankwell Financial Group, (below). Of course, keep in mind that there are other factors to consider, too.

It would appear that 9.3% of Bankwell Financial Group shares are controlled by hedge funds. That's interesting, because hedge funds can be quite active and activist. Many look for medium term catalysts that will drive the share price higher. Veteri Place Corporation is currently the largest shareholder, with 9.3% of shares outstanding. For context, the second largest shareholder holds about 5.0% of the shares outstanding, followed by an ownership of 4.2% by the third-largest shareholder. Additionally, the company's CEO Christopher Gruseke directly holds 2.6% of the total shares outstanding.

Looking at the shareholder registry, we can see that 50% of the ownership is controlled by the top 18 shareholders, meaning that no single shareholder has a majority interest in the ownership.

While studying institutional ownership for a company can add value to your research, it is also a good practice to research analyst recommendations to get a deeper understand of a stock's expected performance. There is a little analyst coverage of the stock, but not much. So there is room for it to gain more coverage.

Insider Ownership Of Bankwell Financial Group

While the precise definition of an insider can be subjective, almost everyone considers board members to be insiders. Company management run the business, but the CEO will answer to the board, even if he or she is a member of it.

Most consider insider ownership a positive because it can indicate the board is well aligned with other shareholders. However, on some occasions too much power is concentrated within this group.

Our information suggests that insiders maintain a significant holding in Bankwell Financial Group, Inc.. Insiders have a US$36m stake in this US$200m business. It is great to see insiders so invested in the business. It might be worth checking if those insiders have been buying recently.

General Public Ownership

The general public, who are usually individual investors, hold a 37% stake in Bankwell Financial Group. This size of ownership, while considerable, may not be enough to change company policy if the decision is not in sync with other large shareholders.

Next Steps:

I find it very interesting to look at who exactly owns a company. But to truly gain insight, we need to consider other information, too. For example, we've discovered 3 warning signs for Bankwell Financial Group (1 is concerning!) that you should be aware of before investing here.

But ultimately it is the future, not the past, that will determine how well the owners of this business will do. Therefore we think it advisable to take a look at this free report showing whether analysts are predicting a brighter future.

NB: Figures in this article are calculated using data from the last twelve months, which refer to the 12-month period ending on the last date of the month the financial statement is dated. This may not be consistent with full year annual report figures.

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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.