Waterstone Financial (NASDAQ:WSBF) Rating Lowered to “Hold” at StockNews.com

Waterstone Financial (NASDAQ:WSBF) was downgraded by StockNews.com from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report released on Saturday.

Waterstone Financial Trading Down 1.3 %

Shares of WSBF stock opened at $13.46 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64, a quick ratio of 1.36 and a current ratio of 1.48. The company has a market capitalization of $260.05 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.33 and a beta of 0.64. Waterstone Financial has a 52-week low of $10.60 and a 52-week high of $16.86. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $13.83 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $14.29.

Waterstone Financial (NASDAQ:WSBF) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, January 28th. The savings and loans company reported $0.28 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. Waterstone Financial had a return on equity of 5.75% and a net margin of 9.23%.

Insider Activity at Waterstone Financial

In related news, CFO Mark Raymond Gerke sold 2,738 shares of the company’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 transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 30,334 shares in the company, valued at approximately $428,922.76. This represents a 8.28 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Stephen J. Schmidt sold 2,195 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $13.76, for a total value of $30,203.20. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 70,078 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $964,273.28. This represents a 3.04 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 66,669 shares of company stock worth $929,283. 8.30% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Waterstone Financial

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in WSBF. Wells Fargo & Company MN boosted its position in Waterstone Financial by 27.8% during the fourth quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN now owns 9,441 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock worth $127,000 after purchasing an additional 2,055 shares during the period. Deutsche Bank AG purchased a new stake in shares of Waterstone Financial during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $143,000. Quantinno Capital Management LP purchased a new stake in shares of Waterstone Financial during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $203,000. Millennium Management LLC boosted its holdings in Waterstone Financial by 108.7% in the 4th quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 21,882 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock worth $294,000 after buying an additional 11,395 shares during the period. Finally, Barclays PLC grew its stake in Waterstone Financial by 242.1% in the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 20,824 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock valued at $306,000 after buying an additional 14,737 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 62.71% of the company’s stock.

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.