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

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

Waterstone Financial Stock Performance

Waterstone Financial stock opened at $13.45 on Friday. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $13.84 and a 200-day moving average price of $14.28. The company has a market capitalization of $259.85 million, a PE ratio of 13.32 and a beta of 0.64. Waterstone Financial has a fifty-two week low of $10.60 and a fifty-two week high of $16.86. 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 (NASDAQ:WSBF) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, January 28th. The savings and loans company reported $0.28 earnings per share 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 announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 1st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, April 8th will be paid a $0.15 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, April 8th. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.46%. Waterstone Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 59.41%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Waterstone Financial news, CFO Mark Raymond Gerke sold 2,738 shares of Waterstone Financial stock in a transaction dated 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 owns 30,334 shares in the company, valued at approximately $428,922.76. This trade represents a 8.28 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Stephen J. Schmidt sold 3,097 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $13.75, for a total value of $42,583.75. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 70,078 shares in the company, valued at approximately $963,572.50. This trade represents a 4.23 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 66,669 shares of company stock worth $929,283 in the last ninety days. 8.30% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Waterstone Financial

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in WSBF. Wells Fargo & Company MN increased its stake in shares of 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 in the last quarter. Deutsche Bank AG acquired a new stake in shares of Waterstone Financial in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $143,000. Quantinno Capital Management LP purchased a new position in shares of Waterstone Financial during the 4th quarter worth $203,000. Millennium Management LLC raised its stake in Waterstone Financial by 108.7% during the fourth quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 21,882 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock worth $294,000 after purchasing an additional 11,395 shares during the period. Finally, Barclays PLC lifted its holdings in Waterstone Financial by 242.1% in the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 20,824 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock valued at $306,000 after acquiring an additional 14,737 shares during the last quarter. 62.71% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other 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.