Individual investors account for 37% of Bankwell Financial Group, Inc.'s (NASDAQ:BWFG) ownership, while institutions account for 37%

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. And the group that holds the biggest piece of the pie are individual investors with 37% ownership. That is, the group stands to benefit the most if the stock rises (or lose the most if there is a downturn).

Meanwhile, institutions make up 37% of the company’s shareholders. Institutions often own shares in more established companies, while it's not unusual to see insiders own a fair bit of smaller companies.

Let's take a closer look to see what the different types of shareholders can tell us about Bankwell Financial Group.

View our latest analysis for Bankwell Financial Group

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

Institutions typically measure themselves against a benchmark when reporting to their own investors, so they often become more enthusiastic about a stock once it's included in a major index. We would expect most companies to have some institutions on the register, especially if they are growing.

We can see that Bankwell Financial Group does have institutional investors; and they hold a good portion of the company's stock. This implies the analysts working for those institutions have looked at the stock and they like it. But just like anyone else, they could be wrong. If multiple institutions change their view on a stock at the same time, you could see the share price drop fast. It's therefore worth looking at Bankwell Financial Group's earnings history below. Of course, the future is what really matters.

It looks like hedge funds own 9.5% of Bankwell Financial Group shares. That catches my attention because hedge funds sometimes try to influence management, or bring about changes that will create near term value for shareholders. Veteri Place Corporation is currently the largest shareholder, with 9.5% of shares outstanding. The second and third largest shareholders are BlackRock, Inc. and The Vanguard Group, Inc., with an equal amount of shares to their name at 3.8%. Furthermore, CEO Christopher Gruseke is the owner of 2.4% of the company's shares.

Looking at the shareholder registry, we can see that 50% of the ownership is controlled by the top 21 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. Management ultimately answers to the board. However, it is not uncommon for managers to be executive board members, especially if they are a founder or the CEO.

I generally consider insider ownership to be a good thing. However, on some occasions it makes it more difficult for other shareholders to hold the board accountable for decisions.

Our most recent data indicates that insiders own a reasonable proportion of Bankwell Financial Group, Inc.. It has a market capitalization of just US$226m, and insiders have US$37m worth of shares in their own names. 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-- including retail investors -- own 37% stake in the company, and hence can't easily be ignored. 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 instance, we've identified 2 warning signs for Bankwell Financial Group (1 is concerning) that you should be aware of.

If you are like me, you may want to think about whether this company will grow or shrink. Luckily, you can check this free report showing analyst forecasts for its 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.

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