Donald Smith & CO. Inc. Purchases New Shares in Waterstone Financial, Inc. $WSBF

Donald Smith & CO. Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Waterstone Financial, Inc. (NASDAQ:WSBF) during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor purchased 164,590 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,412,000. Donald Smith & CO. Inc. owned approximately 0.91% of Waterstone Financial as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. AQR Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Waterstone Financial by 16.7% in the first quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 45,595 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock worth $613,000 after acquiring an additional 6,512 shares during the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC lifted its position in shares of Waterstone Financial by 7.5% during the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 83,591 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock worth $1,124,000 after purchasing an additional 5,818 shares in the last quarter. Jane Street Group LLC grew its stake in shares of Waterstone Financial by 29.8% during the first quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 25,843 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock valued at $348,000 after purchasing an additional 5,928 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Waterstone Financial by 1.0% during the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 406,749 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock valued at $5,618,000 after purchasing an additional 4,108 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Rhumbline Advisers increased its holdings in shares of Waterstone Financial by 6.7% in the second 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 in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 62.71% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Waterstone Financial in a research report on Friday, May 29th. Wall Street Zen lowered Waterstone Financial from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, August 8th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Buy”.

Waterstone Financial Trading Up 0.2%

Waterstone Financial stock opened at $21.09 on Friday. Waterstone Financial, Inc. has a 1 year low of $14.35 and a 1 year high of $21.50. The company has a market cap of $379.13 million, a PE ratio of 12.26 and a beta of 0.71. The company’s 50-day moving average is $20.21 and its two-hundred day moving average is $18.92.

Waterstone Financial (NASDAQ:WSBF) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 23rd. The savings and loans company reported $0.49 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.66 by ($0.17). The business had revenue of $40.25 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $65.80 million. Waterstone Financial had a return on equity of 8.64% and a net margin of 14.57%.

Waterstone Financial Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, August 3rd. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, July 8th were paid a $0.17 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, July 8th. This represents a $0.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.2%. Waterstone Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 39.53%.

Waterstone Financial Profile

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.