115,282 Shares in Waterstone Financial, Inc. $WSBF Acquired by Empowered Funds LLC

Empowered Funds LLC acquired a new stake in Waterstone Financial, Inc. (NASDAQ:WSBF) during the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm acquired 115,282 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,390,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of WSBF. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Waterstone Financial by 557.9% during the 2nd quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,875 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 1,590 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Waterstone Financial during the 2nd quarter valued at $28,000. Legal & General Group Plc bought a new stake in shares of Waterstone Financial during the 2nd quarter valued at $30,000. Larson Financial Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Waterstone Financial in the 3rd quarter valued at $30,000. Finally, Simplex Trading LLC lifted its stake in shares of Waterstone Financial by 69.3% in the 4th quarter. Simplex Trading LLC now owns 2,306 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock valued at $38,000 after purchasing an additional 944 shares during the period. 62.71% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

WSBF has been the topic of several recent research reports. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Waterstone Financial in a research report on Wednesday, August 26th. Wall Street Zen downgraded Waterstone Financial from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, August 8th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Buy”.

Waterstone Financial Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:WSBF opened at $21.23 on Thursday. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $20.50 and its 200 day simple moving average is $19.09. Waterstone Financial, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $14.52 and a fifty-two week high of $21.50. The company has a market capitalization of $381.72 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.34 and a beta of 0.71.

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

Waterstone Financial Announces Dividend

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

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.