Insider Selling: Waterstone Financial, Inc. (NASDAQ:WSBF) Director Sells 2,195 Shares of Stock

Waterstone Financial, Inc. (NASDAQ:WSBF) Director Stephen J. Schmidt sold 2,195 shares of Waterstone Financial stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $13.76, for a total value of $30,203.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 70,078 shares in the company, valued at $964,273.28. The trade was a 3.04 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link.

Waterstone Financial Stock Performance

Waterstone Financial stock opened at $13.59 on Friday. Waterstone Financial, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $10.60 and a fifty-two week high of $16.86. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $13.72 and its 200-day simple moving average is $14.43. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64, a current ratio of 1.48 and a quick ratio of 1.36. The company has a market cap of $263.24 million, a P/E ratio of 13.46 and a beta of 0.64.

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 for the quarter. Waterstone Financial had a net margin of 9.23% and a return on equity of 5.75%.

Waterstone Financial Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, February 3rd. Investors of record on Wednesday, January 8th were given a dividend of $0.15 per share. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.42%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, January 8th. Waterstone Financial’s payout ratio is 59.41%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Waterstone Financial

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of WSBF. John G Ullman & Associates Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Waterstone Financial by 165.0% in the 3rd quarter. John G Ullman & Associates Inc. now owns 90,826 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock valued at $1,335,000 after purchasing an additional 56,554 shares during the period. Foundry Partners LLC grew its position in Waterstone Financial by 19.4% during the third quarter. Foundry Partners LLC now owns 205,165 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock valued at $3,016,000 after purchasing an additional 33,305 shares in the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Waterstone Financial by 223.5% in 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 buying an additional 29,366 shares during the period. Proficio Capital Partners LLC purchased a new stake in Waterstone Financial in the 4th quarter worth approximately $365,000. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its stake in shares of 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 buying an additional 21,902 shares during the period. 62.71% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

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.