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

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

Waterstone Financial Trading Up 0.1 %

Waterstone Financial stock opened at $14.22 on Tuesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $275.48 million, a PE ratio of 14.08 and a beta of 0.64. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $13.56 and its 200-day simple moving average is $14.41. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64, a quick ratio of 1.36 and a current ratio of 1.48. 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 data on Tuesday, January 28th. The savings and loans company reported $0.28 earnings per share (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 announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, February 3rd. Investors of record on Wednesday, January 8th were paid a dividend of $0.15 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, January 8th. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.22%. Waterstone Financial’s payout ratio is 59.41%.

Insider Activity at Waterstone Financial

In related news, Director Stephen J. Schmidt sold 14,928 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $13.80, for a total value of $206,006.40. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 70,078 shares in the company, valued at approximately $967,076.40. This represents a 17.56 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 26,909 shares of company stock valued at $371,670. 8.30% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Waterstone Financial

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. State Street Corp increased its position in Waterstone Financial by 0.8% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 462,234 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock valued at $6,795,000 after acquiring an additional 3,799 shares during the period. Bridgeway Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Waterstone Financial by 0.9% during the fourth quarter. Bridgeway Capital Management LLC now owns 431,520 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock worth $5,800,000 after buying an additional 3,705 shares during the last quarter. Foundry Partners LLC lifted its position in Waterstone Financial by 19.4% in the 3rd quarter. Foundry Partners LLC now owns 205,165 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock valued at $3,016,000 after acquiring an additional 33,305 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp grew its holdings in Waterstone Financial by 3.2% during the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 163,551 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock worth $2,198,000 after buying an additional 5,029 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership lifted its position in shares of Waterstone Financial by 8.4% during the 4th quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 110,709 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock worth $1,488,000 after buying an additional 8,584 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 62.71% of the company’s stock.

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.