Waterstone Financial (NASDAQ:WSBF) Director Sells $555,900.00 in Stock

Waterstone Financial, Inc. (NASDAQ:WSBF) Director Patrick Lawton sold 30,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $18.53, for a total transaction of $555,900.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 19,255 shares in the company, valued at $356,795.15. The trade was a 60.91% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link.

Waterstone Financial Stock Performance

WSBF traded down $0.37 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $18.24. The stock had a trading volume of 23,683 shares, compared to its average volume of 47,060. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $16.97 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $15.57. The stock has a market capitalization of $336.71 million, a P/E ratio of 13.71 and a beta of 0.81. Waterstone Financial, Inc. has a 52 week low of $11.61 and a 52 week high of $18.88.

Waterstone Financial (NASDAQ:WSBF) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 28th. The savings and loans company reported $0.44 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. The business had revenue of $37.17 million for the quarter. Waterstone Financial had a return on equity of 6.99% and a net margin of 12.08%.

Waterstone Financial Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, February 2nd. Shareholders of record on Thursday, January 8th were paid a $0.15 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, January 8th. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.3%. Waterstone Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 45.11%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. CSM Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Waterstone Financial in the 2nd quarter valued at $2,725,000. Ritholtz Wealth Management acquired a new stake in shares of Waterstone Financial during the second quarter valued at about $149,000. Hsbc Holdings PLC increased its stake in shares of Waterstone Financial by 265.6% in the second quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 55,028 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock valued at $768,000 after buying an additional 39,978 shares during the period. Fourthstone LLC raised its holdings in Waterstone Financial by 176.7% in the 2nd quarter. Fourthstone LLC now owns 63,194 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock valued at $873,000 after buying an additional 40,357 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Panagora Asset Management Inc. acquired a new position in Waterstone Financial during the 2nd quarter worth about $143,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 62.71% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on WSBF. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Waterstone Financial in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Wall Street Zen lowered Waterstone Financial from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Sunday, December 14th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, Based on data from MarketBeat, Waterstone Financial currently has a consensus rating of “Buy”.

About Waterstone Financial

Waterstone Financial, Inc is a bank holding company based in Glendale, Wisconsin, that provides a broad range of financial services to individuals, businesses and institutions. Its primary operations are conducted through its wholly owned subsidiary, Waterstone Bank, which offers deposit products, loan facilities and treasury management services. The company focuses on delivering relationship-based banking solutions tailored to the needs of small and medium-sized enterprises as well as retail customers.

In addition to traditional commercial and consumer banking, Waterstone Financial supports its clients with specialized financing, including real estate, equipment and asset-based lending.