Waterstone Financial, Inc. (NASDAQ:WSBF) Sees Large Decline in Short Interest

Waterstone Financial, Inc. (NASDAQ:WSBF) saw a large drop in short interest during the month of February. As of February 28th, there was short interest totalling 70,700 shares, a drop of 32.2% from the February 13th total of 104,300 shares. Currently, 0.5% of the shares of the company are sold short. Based on an average daily volume of 50,200 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 1.4 days.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Separately, StockNews.com raised shares of Waterstone Financial from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday.

Waterstone Financial Stock Up 1.7 %

WSBF opened at $13.84 on Friday. The company has a 50 day moving average of $13.65 and a 200 day moving average of $14.37. The company has a market cap of $267.39 million, a PE ratio of 13.70 and a beta of 0.64. Waterstone Financial has a 12 month low of $10.60 and a 12 month high of $16.86. The company has a current ratio of 1.48, a quick ratio of 1.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64.

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

Waterstone Financial Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, February 3rd. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, January 8th were issued a $0.15 dividend. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.34%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, January 8th. Waterstone Financial’s payout ratio is 59.41%.

Insider Transactions at Waterstone Financial

In other news, Director Patrick S. Lawton sold 37,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $14.03, for a total transaction of $526,125.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 49,131 shares in the company, valued at $689,307.93. This trade represents a 43.29 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CFO Mark Raymond Gerke sold 2,738 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $14.14, for a total transaction of $38,715.32. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 30,334 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $428,922.76. This trade represents a 8.28 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 66,669 shares of company stock worth $929,283 in the last quarter. Insiders own 8.30% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Wells Fargo & Company MN boosted its holdings in Waterstone Financial by 27.8% in the 4th quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN now owns 9,441 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock valued at $127,000 after purchasing an additional 2,055 shares during the period. Deutsche Bank AG bought a new position in Waterstone Financial in the 4th quarter valued at $143,000. Quantinno Capital Management LP bought a new stake in shares of Waterstone Financial during the 4th quarter worth $203,000. GSA Capital Partners LLP bought a new stake in shares of Waterstone Financial during the 3rd quarter worth $291,000. Finally, Barclays PLC lifted its holdings in shares of Waterstone Financial by 242.1% during the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 20,824 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock worth $306,000 after acquiring an additional 14,737 shares during the last quarter. 62.71% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.