Insider Selling: Waterstone Financial, Inc. (NASDAQ:WSBF) Director Sells 14,928 Shares of Stock

Waterstone Financial, Inc. (NASDAQ:WSBF) Director Stephen J. Schmidt sold 14,928 shares of Waterstone Financial stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $13.80, for a total value of $206,006.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 70,078 shares in the company, valued at $967,076.40. The trade was a 17.56 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website.

Waterstone Financial Trading Down 0.2 %

Shares of Waterstone Financial stock opened at $13.75 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $266.38 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.61 and a beta of 0.64. Waterstone Financial, Inc. has a 1 year low of $10.60 and a 1 year high of $16.86. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $13.75 and its 200-day simple moving average is $14.44. The company has a current ratio of 1.48, a quick ratio of 1.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64.

Waterstone Financial (NASDAQ:WSBF) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, January 28th. The savings and loans company reported $0.28 earnings per share (EPS) 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 company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, February 3rd. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, January 8th were given a $0.15 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, January 8th. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.36%. Waterstone Financial’s dividend payout ratio is currently 59.41%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Separately, StockNews.com raised Waterstone Financial from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday.

Institutional Trading of Waterstone Financial

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of WSBF. John G Ullman & Associates Inc. lifted its position in Waterstone Financial by 165.0% in the third quarter. John G Ullman & Associates Inc. now owns 90,826 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock worth $1,335,000 after purchasing an additional 56,554 shares during the period. Foundry Partners LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Waterstone Financial by 19.4% during the 3rd quarter. Foundry Partners LLC now owns 205,165 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock worth $3,016,000 after acquiring an additional 33,305 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Waterstone Financial by 223.5% during the 2nd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 42,506 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock valued at $544,000 after acquiring an additional 29,366 shares in the last quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC bought a new stake in Waterstone Financial in the fourth quarter valued at about $365,000. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its position in Waterstone Financial by 73.0% in the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 51,913 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock worth $763,000 after purchasing an additional 21,902 shares in the last quarter. 62.71% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About Waterstone Financial

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.