Dean Capital Management Reduces Stock Position in Waterstone Financial, Inc. (NASDAQ:WSBF)

Dean Capital Management cut its stake in shares of Waterstone Financial, Inc. (NASDAQ:WSBF) by 49.8% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 33,819 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock after selling 33,560 shares during the period. Dean Capital Management’s holdings in Waterstone Financial were worth $455,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of WSBF. Wells Fargo & Company MN grew its position in shares of Waterstone Financial by 27.8% during the 4th quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN now owns 9,441 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock valued at $127,000 after acquiring an additional 2,055 shares during the period. Barclays PLC raised its stake in shares of Waterstone Financial by 242.1% in the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 20,824 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock worth $306,000 after buying an additional 14,737 shares during the period. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC lifted its position in shares of Waterstone Financial by 27.5% during the 4th quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 24,213 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock valued at $325,000 after buying an additional 5,226 shares in the last quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of Waterstone Financial during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $365,000. Finally, Jane Street Group LLC increased its holdings in Waterstone Financial by 33.6% in the 3rd quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 29,082 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock worth $428,000 after acquiring an additional 7,310 shares in the last quarter. 62.71% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Separately, StockNews.com lowered shares of Waterstone Financial from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, April 25th.

Waterstone Financial Price Performance

Shares of Waterstone Financial stock opened at $12.26 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.36, a current ratio of 1.48 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64. Waterstone Financial, Inc. has a 52 week low of $11.61 and a 52 week high of $16.86. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $12.90 and its 200-day simple moving average is $13.79. The company has a market capitalization of $236.86 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.14 and a beta of 0.71.

Waterstone Financial (NASDAQ:WSBF) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, April 22nd. The savings and loans company reported $0.17 earnings per share for the quarter. The firm had revenue of $29.67 million during the quarter. Waterstone Financial had a net margin of 9.23% and a return on equity of 5.75%.

Waterstone Financial Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 1st. Investors of record on Tuesday, April 8th were paid a dividend of $0.15 per share. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.89%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, April 8th. Waterstone Financial’s payout ratio is presently 58.82%.

Insider Activity

In other news, CFO Mark Raymond Gerke sold 2,738 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $14.14, for a total value of $38,715.32. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 30,334 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $428,922.76. This trade represents a 8.28 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, Director Patrick S. Lawton sold 37,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 28th. The shares were 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 in the company, valued at approximately $689,307.93. This represents a 43.29 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 46,449 shares of company stock worth $650,490. 8.30% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.