Waterstone Financial (NASDAQ:WSBF) Rating Increased to Buy at Wall Street Zen

Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Waterstone Financial (NASDAQ:WSBF) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a report published on Saturday.

Separately, Weiss Ratings reiterated 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, According to data from MarketBeat, Waterstone Financial currently has a consensus rating of “Buy”.

Waterstone Financial Stock Up 3.1%

Shares of NASDAQ WSBF opened at $20.06 on Friday. Waterstone Financial has a 1 year low of $13.08 and a 1 year high of $21.03. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $19.33 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $18.44. The company has a market cap of $362.14 million, a P/E ratio of 11.66 and a beta of 0.71. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.19, a current ratio of 1.29 and a quick ratio of 1.19.

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

Waterstone Financial Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, August 3rd. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, July 8th will be issued a dividend of $0.17 per share. This represents a $0.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.4%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, July 8th. Waterstone Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 39.53%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Waterstone Financial news, CFO Mark Raymond Gerke sold 10,000 shares of Waterstone Financial stock in a transaction 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 completion of the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 30,034 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $550,823.56. The trade was a 24.98% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 6.00% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Waterstone Financial

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Waterstone Financial by 557.9% in the second quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,875 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 1,590 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in Waterstone Financial during the 2nd quarter valued at about $28,000. Larson Financial Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Waterstone Financial in the 3rd quarter valued at about $30,000. Simplex Trading LLC raised its holdings in shares of Waterstone Financial by 69.3% in the 4th quarter. Simplex Trading LLC now owns 2,306 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock valued at $38,000 after purchasing an additional 944 shares in the last quarter. Finally, SG Americas Securities LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Waterstone Financial in the 4th quarter worth approximately $126,000. Hedge funds and other 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.