Waterstone Financial (NASDAQ:WSBF) Upgraded to “Buy” at StockNews.com

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

Waterstone Financial Stock Performance

Waterstone Financial stock opened at $13.84 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $267.39 million, a P/E 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 stock has a 50 day moving average of $13.65 and a 200-day moving average of $14.37. Waterstone Financial has a 52 week low of $10.60 and a 52 week 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 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 firm also recently announced 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 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.34%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, January 8th. Waterstone Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 59.41%.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Stephen J. Schmidt sold 14,928 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, January 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $13.80, for a total transaction of $206,006.40. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 70,078 shares in the company, valued at $967,076.40. This trade represents a 17.56 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Mark Raymond Gerke sold 2,738 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on 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 owns 30,334 shares in the company, valued at $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. In the last three months, insiders sold 66,669 shares of company stock worth $929,283. 8.30% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Waterstone Financial

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in WSBF. Wells Fargo & Company MN lifted its stake in Waterstone Financial by 27.8% during the fourth quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN now owns 9,441 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock worth $127,000 after purchasing an additional 2,055 shares during the last quarter. Deutsche Bank AG bought a new position in Waterstone Financial during the fourth quarter worth $143,000. Quantinno Capital Management LP bought a new position in Waterstone Financial during the fourth quarter worth $203,000. GSA Capital Partners LLP bought a new position in Waterstone Financial during the third quarter worth $291,000. Finally, Millennium Management LLC lifted 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 last quarter. 62.71% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Waterstone Financial Company Profile

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.