37,511 Shares in Waterstone Financial, Inc. (NASDAQ:WSBF) Bought by Fourthstone LLC

Fourthstone LLC bought a new position in shares of Waterstone Financial, Inc. (NASDAQ:WSBF - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund bought 37,511 shares of the savings and loans company's stock, valued at approximately $504,000. Fourthstone LLC owned 0.19% of Waterstone Financial at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. State Street Corp raised its stake in shares of Waterstone Financial by 0.8% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 462,234 shares of the savings and loans company's stock valued at $6,795,000 after buying an additional 3,799 shares in the last quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership raised its holdings in shares of Waterstone Financial by 8.4% in the 4th quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 110,709 shares of the savings and loans company's stock worth $1,488,000 after buying an additional 8,584 shares in the last quarter. John G Ullman & Associates Inc. boosted its stake in Waterstone Financial by 19.3% in the 4th quarter. John G Ullman & Associates Inc. now owns 108,342 shares of the savings and loans company's stock valued at $1,456,000 after buying an additional 17,516 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its holdings in shares of Waterstone Financial by 64.9% during the fourth quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 85,628 shares of the savings and loans company's stock valued at $1,151,000 after acquiring an additional 33,715 shares during the period. Finally, Empowered Funds LLC boosted its stake in shares of Waterstone Financial by 5.0% in the 4th quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 77,773 shares of the savings and loans company's stock valued at $1,045,000 after purchasing an additional 3,705 shares in the last quarter. 62.71% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Separately, StockNews.com upgraded Waterstone Financial from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Sunday, April 6th.

Insider Transactions at Waterstone Financial

In other Waterstone Financial news, Director Patrick S. Lawton sold 37,500 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Friday, February 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $14.03, for a total value of $526,125.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 49,131 shares of the company's stock, valued at $689,307.93. This represents a 43.29 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Stephen J. Schmidt sold 2,195 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $13.76, for a total transaction of $30,203.20. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 70,078 shares in the company, valued at approximately $964,273.28. This represents a 3.04 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 66,669 shares of company stock worth $929,283 in the last three months. Insiders own 8.30% of the company's stock.

Waterstone Financial Trading Up 0.4 %

WSBF stock traded up $0.05 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $12.16. The company's stock had a trading volume of 52,531 shares, compared to its average volume of 43,094. Waterstone Financial, Inc. has a 52 week low of $11.25 and a 52 week high of $16.86. The company has a quick ratio of 1.36, a current ratio of 1.48 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64. The stock has a market cap of $234.83 million, a PE ratio of 12.07 and a beta of 0.63. The business's 50-day simple moving average is $13.41 and its 200-day simple moving average is $13.96.

Waterstone Financial (NASDAQ:WSBF - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results 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 Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 1st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, April 8th will be paid a $0.15 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, April 8th. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.94%. Waterstone Financial's payout ratio is currently 59.41%.

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.