Waterstone Financial, Inc. (NASDAQ:WSBF) Short Interest Update

Waterstone Financial, Inc. (NASDAQ:WSBF - Get Free Report) saw a significant drop in short interest in the month of October. As of October 15th, there was short interest totalling 100,600 shares, a drop of 33.2% from the September 30th total of 150,600 shares. Approximately 0.6% of the company's shares are sold short. Based on an average daily volume of 33,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 3.0 days.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Waterstone Financial news, Director Ellen Syburg Bartel sold 4,166 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, September 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $14.89, for a total value of $62,031.74. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 15,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $223,350. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other news, Director Michael L. Hansen sold 5,569 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $15.00, for a total transaction of $83,535.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 79,872 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,198,080. This represents a 0.00 % 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 hyperlink. Also, Director Ellen Syburg Bartel sold 4,166 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, September 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $14.89, for a total transaction of $62,031.74. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 15,000 shares of the company's stock, valued at $223,350. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 30,459 shares of company stock worth $456,448. Company insiders own 8.30% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. ProShare Advisors LLC bought a new position in Waterstone Financial in the second quarter valued at $30,000. CWM LLC grew its position in shares of Waterstone Financial by 63.3% in the 2nd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 3,588 shares of the savings and loans company's stock valued at $46,000 after acquiring an additional 1,391 shares during the period. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Waterstone Financial by 1,979.4% in the 4th quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 3,327 shares of the savings and loans company's stock valued at $47,000 after acquiring an additional 3,167 shares during the period. BNP Paribas Financial Markets grew its position in shares of Waterstone Financial by 62.9% in the 1st quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 8,398 shares of the savings and loans company's stock valued at $102,000 after acquiring an additional 3,243 shares during the period. Finally, Arnhold LLC bought a new position in shares of Waterstone Financial in the 1st quarter valued at about $122,000. Institutional investors own 62.71% of the company's stock.

Waterstone Financial Stock Down 2.7 %

Shares of WSBF stock traded down $0.40 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $14.60. 28,299 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 45,379. The business has a 50 day moving average of $14.78 and a two-hundred day moving average of $13.50. The company has a current ratio of 1.57, a quick ratio of 1.39 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.97. Waterstone Financial has a 52 week low of $9.85 and a 52 week high of $16.36. The company has a market capitalization of $286.80 million, a PE ratio of 28.08 and a beta of 0.63.

Waterstone Financial (NASDAQ:WSBF - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, July 25th. The savings and loans company reported $0.31 earnings per share for the quarter. The business had revenue of $37.18 million during the quarter. Waterstone Financial had a net margin of 6.79% and a return on equity of 4.19%.

Waterstone Financial Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 1st. Investors of record on Tuesday, October 8th will be given a $0.15 dividend. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.11%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, October 8th. Waterstone Financial's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 115.38%.

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.