Lawrence Seidman increases stake in small bank

Today, Lawrence Seidman, the activist investor who in the past has been characterized as Mr. Potter from It's a Wonderful Life (see this old Forbes article for some background on Mr. Seidman) has increased his stake in Bankwell Financial Group (NASDAQ: BWFG) to 7.29% of the community bank.

Seidman's first 13D filing in BWFG was made earlier this month on Dec 13, 2018, with the below Purpose of transaction: "​The Reporting Persons originally purchased the Shares based on the Reporting Persons’ belief that the Shares, when purchased, were undervalued and represented an attractive investment opportunity." 

Siedman also stated that he had several conversations and meetings with company management. Subsequent to this first 13D filing, on Dec 19th BWFG announced a 400,000 share buyback program. 

The current stock price of ~$28.65 (mid-day) is just slightly above Siedman's average purchase price (based on latest 13D filing) of $28.15.

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