Patrick S. Lawton Sells 37,500 Shares of Waterstone Financial, Inc. (NASDAQ:WSBF) Stock

Waterstone Financial, Inc. (NASDAQ:WSBF) Director Patrick S. Lawton sold 37,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $14.03, for a total transaction of $526,125.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 49,131 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $689,307.93. This trade represents a 43.29 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website.

Waterstone Financial Stock Down 0.4 %

WSBF opened at $13.96 on Wednesday. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $13.59 and a 200-day moving average of $14.42. The company has a market capitalization of $270.45 million, a P/E ratio of 13.82 and a beta of 0.64. Waterstone Financial, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $10.60 and a fifty-two week high of $16.86. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64, a quick ratio of 1.36 and a current ratio of 1.48.

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

Waterstone Financial Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, February 3rd. Investors of record on Wednesday, January 8th were given a dividend of $0.15 per share. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.30%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, January 8th. Waterstone Financial’s dividend payout ratio is currently 59.41%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Waterstone Financial

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its position in shares of Waterstone Financial by 73.0% in the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 51,913 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock worth $763,000 after purchasing an additional 21,902 shares during the period. Barclays PLC grew its stake in Waterstone Financial by 242.1% during the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 20,824 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock worth $306,000 after buying an additional 14,737 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp grew its stake in Waterstone Financial by 0.8% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 462,234 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock worth $6,795,000 after buying an additional 3,799 shares in the last quarter. John G Ullman & Associates Inc. increased its holdings in Waterstone Financial by 165.0% in the 3rd quarter. John G Ullman & Associates Inc. now owns 90,826 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock valued at $1,335,000 after buying an additional 56,554 shares during the period. Finally, FMR LLC raised its position 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. Institutional investors own 62.71% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Separately, StockNews.com upgraded Waterstone Financial from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday.

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.