Waterstone Financial (NASDAQ:WSBF) Cut to Hold at Wall Street Zen

Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Waterstone Financial (NASDAQ:WSBF) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research note issued to investors on Saturday.

Separately, Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Waterstone Financial in a research report on Friday, May 29th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Buy”.

Waterstone Financial Stock Performance

WSBF opened at $20.57 on Friday. Waterstone Financial has a 12-month low of $13.58 and a 12-month high of $21.14. The company has a current ratio of 1.29, a quick ratio of 1.19 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.19. The firm has a market capitalization of $371.29 million, a PE ratio of 11.96 and a beta of 0.71. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $19.82 and a two-hundred day moving average of $18.72.

Waterstone Financial (NASDAQ:WSBF) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 23rd. The savings and loans company reported $0.49 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.66 by ($0.17). The business had revenue of $40.25 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $65.80 million. Waterstone Financial had a net margin of 14.57% and a return on equity of 8.66%.

Waterstone Financial Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, August 3rd. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, July 8th were paid a dividend of $0.17 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, July 8th. This represents a $0.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.3%. Waterstone Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 39.53%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Waterstone Financial

In related news, CFO Mark Raymond Gerke sold 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $18.34, for a total value of $183,400.00. Following the completion of the transaction, 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 position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 6.00% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Waterstone Financial

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in WSBF. Donald Smith & CO. Inc. purchased a new position in Waterstone Financial during the fourth quarter worth approximately $2,115,000. Deutsche Bank AG purchased a new stake in shares of Waterstone Financial in the second quarter valued at approximately $307,000. Bank of America Corp DE increased its position in shares of Waterstone Financial by 30.7% in the first quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 45,200 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock valued at $815,000 after buying an additional 10,612 shares in the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC raised its stake in shares of Waterstone Financial by 11.3% during the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 122,380 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock worth $2,207,000 after buying an additional 12,430 shares during the period. Finally, Quantinno Capital Management LP raised its stake in shares of Waterstone Financial by 10.0% during the 1st quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP now owns 141,411 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock worth $2,550,000 after buying an additional 12,808 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 62.71% of the company’s stock.

About Waterstone Financial

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.