Waterstone Financial (NASDAQ:WSBF) Downgraded to Hold Rating by Wall Street Zen

Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Waterstone Financial (NASDAQ:WSBF) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research note released on Sunday morning.

Separately, Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Waterstone Financial in a research note on Monday, December 8th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Buy”.

Waterstone Financial Stock Performance

NASDAQ WSBF opened at $17.05 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $314.74 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.82 and a beta of 0.82. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $15.46 and a 200-day simple moving average of $14.61. Waterstone Financial has a one year low of $11.61 and a one year high of $17.13.

Waterstone Financial (NASDAQ:WSBF) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, October 23rd. The savings and loans company reported $0.45 earnings per share for the quarter. Waterstone Financial had a net margin of 12.08% and a return on equity of 6.99%. The firm had revenue of $37.04 million for the quarter.

Waterstone Financial Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, November 3rd. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, October 8th were paid a $0.15 dividend. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.5%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, October 8th. Waterstone Financial’s dividend payout ratio is currently 45.11%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Michael L. Hansen sold 79,872 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, October 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $15.16, for a total transaction of $1,210,859.52. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Insiders own 8.30% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Waterstone Financial

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in Waterstone Financial by 7.7% in the second quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC now owns 15,840 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock valued at $219,000 after acquiring an additional 1,135 shares in the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Waterstone Financial by 0.8% in the 1st quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 154,347 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock valued at $2,076,000 after purchasing an additional 1,206 shares during the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Waterstone Financial by 557.9% in the 2nd quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,875 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 1,590 shares during the period. Rhumbline Advisers boosted its position in shares of Waterstone Financial by 6.7% in the 2nd quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 26,848 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock valued at $371,000 after purchasing an additional 1,676 shares during the period. Finally, Larson Financial Group LLC purchased a new position in Waterstone Financial during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $30,000. 62.71% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.