Waterstone Financial (NASDAQ:WSBF) Rating Lowered to “Hold” at StockNews.com

StockNews.com lowered shares of Waterstone Financial (NASDAQ:WSBF) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research note released on Tuesday.

Waterstone Financial Price Performance

Shares of Waterstone Financial stock opened at $14.22 on Tuesday. The business has a 50 day moving average of $13.56 and a 200 day moving average of $14.41. The company has a market cap of $275.48 million, a PE ratio of 14.08 and a beta of 0.64. The company has a quick ratio of 1.36, a current ratio of 1.48 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64. Waterstone Financial has a 52 week low of $10.60 and a 52 week high of $16.86.

Waterstone Financial (NASDAQ:WSBF) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, January 28th. The savings and loans company reported $0.28 EPS for the quarter. Waterstone Financial had a return on equity of 5.75% and a net margin of 9.23%.

Waterstone Financial Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, February 3rd. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, January 8th were paid a $0.15 dividend. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.22%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, January 8th. Waterstone Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 59.41%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Waterstone Financial news, Director Stephen J. Schmidt sold 2,195 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $13.76, for a total transaction of $30,203.20. Following the sale, the director now owns 70,078 shares in the company, valued at approximately $964,273.28. The trade was a 3.04 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders have sold 26,909 shares of company stock valued at $371,670 over the last ninety days. 8.30% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Waterstone Financial

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Wells Fargo & Company MN boosted its position in Waterstone Financial by 27.8% during the fourth quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN now owns 9,441 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock worth $127,000 after acquiring an additional 2,055 shares during the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE grew its position in Waterstone Financial by 8.0% in the 4th quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 31,552 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock valued at $424,000 after acquiring an additional 2,350 shares in the last quarter. Barclays PLC increased its stake in Waterstone Financial by 16.1% during the 4th quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 24,187 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock worth $325,000 after buying an additional 3,363 shares during the period. Empowered Funds LLC increased its position in shares of Waterstone Financial by 5.0% during the fourth quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 77,773 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock worth $1,045,000 after acquiring an additional 3,705 shares during the period. Finally, Bridgeway Capital Management LLC grew its stake in Waterstone Financial by 0.9% during the 4th quarter. Bridgeway Capital Management LLC now owns 431,520 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock worth $5,800,000 after purchasing an additional 3,705 shares in the last quarter. 62.71% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Waterstone Financial

Waterstone Financial, Inc operates as a bank holding company for WaterStone Bank SSB that provides various financial services to customers in southeastern Wisconsin, the United States. It operates in two segments, Community Banking and Mortgage Banking. The Community Banking segment offers consumer and business banking products and services, such as deposit and transactional solutions, including checking accounts, online banking and bill pay services, money transfer services, as well as credit, debit, and pre-paid cards; investable funds solutions comprising savings, money market deposits, individual retirement accounts, and certificates of deposit; residential mortgages, home equity loans and lines of credit, personal and installment loans, real estate financing, business loans, and business lines of credit; and fixed and variable annuities, insurance products, and trust and investment management accounts.