Waterstone Financial (NASDAQ:WSBF) Upgraded by StockNews.com to Buy Rating

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

Waterstone Financial Trading Up 1.1 %

Waterstone Financial stock opened at $12.71 on Friday. Waterstone Financial has a 12 month low of $10.60 and a 12 month high of $16.86. The stock has a market cap of $245.56 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.58 and a beta of 0.63. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $13.82 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $14.20. The company has a quick ratio of 1.36, a current ratio of 1.48 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64.

Waterstone Financial (NASDAQ:WSBF) last posted 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 Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 1st. Investors of record on Tuesday, April 8th will be given a $0.15 dividend. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.72%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, April 8th. Waterstone Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 59.41%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Waterstone Financial news, CFO Mark Raymond Gerke sold 2,738 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 in the company, valued at $428,922.76. This represents a 8.28 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Stephen J. Schmidt sold 14,928 shares of Waterstone Financial stock in a transaction on Friday, January 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $13.80, for a total value of $206,006.40. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 70,078 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $967,076.40. The trade was a 17.56 % 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 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 8.30% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Waterstone Financial

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. FMR LLC boosted its position in Waterstone Financial by 26.6% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 71,039 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock valued at $1,044,000 after buying an additional 14,919 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp raised its stake in shares of Waterstone Financial by 0.8% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 462,234 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock valued at $6,795,000 after acquiring an additional 3,799 shares during the last quarter. Jane Street Group LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Waterstone Financial by 33.6% in the 3rd quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 29,082 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock worth $428,000 after acquiring an additional 7,310 shares in the last quarter. Barclays PLC grew 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 acquiring an additional 14,737 shares during the last quarter. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its holdings 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 valued at $763,000 after purchasing an additional 21,902 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 62.71% of the company’s stock.

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.