Waterstone Financial (NASDAQ:WSBF) CFO Mark Raymond Gerke Sells 10,000 Shares

Waterstone Financial, Inc. (NASDAQ:WSBF) CFO Mark Raymond Gerke sold 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $18.34, for a total transaction of $183,400.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 30,034 shares in the company, valued at $550,823.56. The trade was a 24.98% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website.

Waterstone Financial Price Performance

WSBF stock opened at $18.56 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $335.01 million, a P/E ratio of 11.18 and a beta of 0.74. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $18.19 and a 200-day moving average price of $17.36. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.19, a quick ratio of 1.19 and a current ratio of 1.29. Waterstone Financial, Inc. has a 52-week low of $12.49 and a 52-week high of $18.88.

Waterstone Financial (NASDAQ:WSBF) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 23rd. The savings and loans company reported $0.34 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.66 by ($0.32). The business had revenue of $35.69 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $65.80 million. Waterstone Financial had a return on equity of 8.48% and a net margin of 14.28%.

Waterstone Financial Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 1st. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, April 8th were given a $0.17 dividend. This is a boost from Waterstone Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.15. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, April 8th. This represents a $0.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.7%. Waterstone Financial’s dividend payout ratio is presently 40.96%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Separately, Wall Street Zen lowered Waterstone Financial from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, May 9th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Buy”.

Institutional Trading of Waterstone Financial

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. AQR Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in Waterstone Financial by 16.7% during the 1st quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 45,595 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock worth $613,000 after acquiring an additional 6,512 shares during the period. Empowered Funds LLC boosted its position in shares of Waterstone Financial by 7.5% during the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 83,591 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock valued at $1,124,000 after purchasing an additional 5,818 shares in the last quarter. Jane Street Group LLC grew its stake in Waterstone Financial by 29.8% during the first quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 25,843 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock worth $348,000 after purchasing an additional 5,928 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in Waterstone Financial by 1.0% in the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 406,749 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock valued at $5,618,000 after buying an additional 4,108 shares during the period. Finally, Rhumbline Advisers boosted its holdings in shares of Waterstone Financial by 6.7% during the 2nd quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 26,848 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock worth $371,000 after buying an additional 1,676 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 62.71% of the company’s stock.

Waterstone Financial Company Profile

Waterstone Financial, Inc is a bank holding company based in Glendale, Wisconsin, that provides a broad range of financial services to individuals, businesses and institutions. Its primary operations are conducted through its wholly owned subsidiary, Waterstone Bank, which offers deposit products, loan facilities and treasury management services. The company focuses on delivering relationship-based banking solutions tailored to the needs of small and medium-sized enterprises as well as retail customers.

In addition to traditional commercial and consumer banking, Waterstone Financial supports its clients with specialized financing, including real estate, equipment and asset-based lending.