Waterstone Financial (NASDAQ:WSBF) Upgraded at StockNews.com

StockNews.com upgraded shares of Waterstone Financial (NASDAQ:WSBF) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research report sent to investors on Thursday.

Waterstone Financial Price Performance

NASDAQ:WSBF opened at $13.84 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $267.39 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.70 and a beta of 0.64. The company has a current ratio of 1.48, a quick ratio of 1.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64. The company’s 50-day moving average is $13.65 and its two-hundred day moving average is $14.37. Waterstone Financial has a 12-month low of $10.60 and a 12-month high of $16.86.

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

Waterstone Financial Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, February 3rd. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, January 8th were paid a dividend of $0.15 per share. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.34%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, January 8th. Waterstone Financial’s dividend payout ratio is currently 59.41%.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Stephen J. Schmidt sold 2,195 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $13.76, for a total transaction of $30,203.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 70,078 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $964,273.28. This represents a 3.04 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Director Patrick S. Lawton sold 37,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $14.03, for a total transaction of $526,125.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 49,131 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $689,307.93. This represents a 43.29 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 66,669 shares of company stock valued at $929,283 in the last 90 days. 8.30% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Waterstone Financial

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its position in Waterstone Financial by 73.0% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 51,913 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock worth $763,000 after purchasing an additional 21,902 shares in the last quarter. Barclays PLC increased its position in 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 purchasing an additional 14,737 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp increased its position in Waterstone Financial by 0.8% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 462,234 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock worth $6,795,000 after purchasing an additional 3,799 shares in the last quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC acquired a new stake in Waterstone Financial during the 4th quarter worth approximately $365,000. Finally, John G Ullman & Associates Inc. increased its position in Waterstone Financial by 165.0% during the 3rd quarter. John G Ullman & Associates Inc. now owns 90,826 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock worth $1,335,000 after purchasing an additional 56,554 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.