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

Waterstone Financial, Inc. (NASDAQ:WSBF) was the target of a large decrease in short interest in February. As of February 28th, there was short interest totalling 70,700 shares, a decrease of 32.2% from the February 13th total of 104,300 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 50,200 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 1.4 days. Approximately 0.5% of the company’s stock are sold short.

Waterstone Financial Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:WSBF opened at $13.84 on Monday. Waterstone Financial has a one year low of $10.60 and a one year high of $16.86. The stock has a market capitalization of $267.39 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.70 and a beta of 0.64. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $13.65 and a 200-day simple moving average of $14.37. 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 posted its quarterly earnings data 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 Announces Dividend

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

Insider Activity

In other Waterstone Financial news, Director Stephen J. Schmidt sold 3,097 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $13.75, for a total value of $42,583.75. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 70,078 shares in the company, valued at $963,572.50. This represents a 4.23 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing 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 dated Friday, February 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $14.14, for a total value of $38,715.32. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 30,334 shares in the company, valued at approximately $428,922.76. The trade was a 8.28 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 66,669 shares of company stock worth $929,283. Corporate insiders own 8.30% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Waterstone Financial

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

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.