Waterstone Financial (NASDAQ:WSBF) Raised to “Buy” at StockNews.com

Waterstone Financial (NASDAQ:WSBF) was upgraded by equities researchers at StockNews.com from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report issued on Sunday.

Waterstone Financial Stock Performance

Shares of WSBF opened at $12.71 on Friday. The company has a 50-day moving average of $13.82 and a two-hundred day moving average of $14.23. The stock has a market cap of $245.56 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.58 and a beta of 0.64. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64, a current ratio of 1.48 and a quick ratio of 1.36. Waterstone Financial has a one year low of $10.60 and a one year high of $16.86.

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Stephen J. Schmidt sold 2,195 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $13.76, for a total transaction of $30,203.20. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 70,078 shares in the company, valued at $964,273.28. The trade was a 3.04 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CFO Mark Raymond Gerke sold 2,738 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $14.14, for a total transaction of $38,715.32. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 30,334 shares in the company, valued at $428,922.76. This trade represents a 8.28 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 66,669 shares of company stock worth $929,283. 8.30% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Waterstone Financial

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in WSBF. FMR LLC grew its stake in shares of Waterstone Financial by 26.6% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 71,039 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock valued at $1,044,000 after buying an additional 14,919 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp grew its position in Waterstone Financial by 0.8% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 462,234 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock worth $6,795,000 after acquiring an additional 3,799 shares in the last quarter. Jane Street Group LLC grew its position in Waterstone Financial by 33.6% in the third 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. Barclays PLC increased its stake in shares of Waterstone Financial by 242.1% during the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 20,824 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock worth $306,000 after purchasing an additional 14,737 shares during the last quarter. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its holdings in shares of Waterstone Financial by 73.0% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 51,913 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock valued at $763,000 after purchasing an additional 21,902 shares in the last quarter. 62.71% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Waterstone Financial Company Profile

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.