Waterstone Financial (NASDAQ:WSBF) Upgraded by StockNews.com to Buy Rating

StockNews.com upgraded shares of Waterstone Financial (NASDAQ:WSBF - Free Report) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research note published on Sunday morning.

Waterstone Financial Stock Performance

WSBF traded down $0.78 on Friday, reaching $11.93. The company had a trading volume of 75,521 shares, compared to its average volume of 43,352. The stock has a market cap of $230.49 million, a P/E ratio of 11.81 and a beta of 0.63. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64, a quick ratio of 1.36 and a current ratio of 1.48. Waterstone Financial has a fifty-two week low of $10.60 and a fifty-two week high of $16.86. The company's fifty day moving average is $13.66 and its 200 day moving average is $14.09.

Waterstone Financial (NASDAQ:WSBF - Get Free Report) last issued 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 return on equity of 5.75% and a net margin of 9.23%.

Waterstone Financial Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 1st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, April 8th will be issued a dividend of $0.15 per share. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.03%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, April 8th. Waterstone Financial's dividend payout ratio is currently 59.41%.

Insider Activity

In other Waterstone Financial news, Director Patrick S. Lawton sold 37,500 shares of Waterstone Financial 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 completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 49,131 shares of the company's stock, valued at $689,307.93. The trade was a 43.29 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Stephen J. Schmidt sold 14,928 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, January 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $13.80, for a total value of $206,006.40. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 70,078 shares in the company, valued at approximately $967,076.40. This trade represents a 17.56 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 66,669 shares of company stock valued at $929,283. 8.30% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Waterstone Financial

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of WSBF. State Street Corp raised its position 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. Bridgeway Capital Management LLC raised its position in Waterstone Financial by 0.9% during the fourth quarter. Bridgeway Capital Management LLC now owns 431,520 shares of the savings and loans company's stock valued at $5,800,000 after purchasing an additional 3,705 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp raised its position in Waterstone Financial by 3.2% during the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 163,551 shares of the savings and loans company's stock valued at $2,198,000 after purchasing an additional 5,029 shares in the last quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership boosted 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 valued at $1,488,000 after purchasing an additional 8,584 shares in the last quarter. Finally, John G Ullman & Associates Inc. increased its stake in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 17,516 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 62.71% of the company's stock.

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.