164,590 Shares in Waterstone Financial, Inc. $WSBF Bought by Donald Smith & CO. Inc.

Donald Smith & CO. Inc. acquired a new stake in Waterstone Financial, Inc. (NASDAQ:WSBF) in the second quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor acquired 164,590 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,412,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in WSBF. AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in 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 valued at $613,000 after buying an additional 6,512 shares during the period. Empowered Funds LLC grew its position in shares of Waterstone Financial by 7.5% during the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 83,591 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock worth $1,124,000 after buying an additional 5,818 shares during the period. Jane Street Group LLC grew its position in shares of Waterstone Financial by 29.8% during the 1st quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 25,843 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock worth $348,000 after buying an additional 5,928 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Waterstone Financial by 1.0% in the 2nd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 406,749 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock valued at $5,618,000 after acquiring an additional 4,108 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Rhumbline Advisers increased its stake in shares of Waterstone Financial by 6.7% in the 2nd quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 26,848 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock valued at $371,000 after acquiring an additional 1,676 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 62.71% of the company’s stock.

Waterstone Financial Trading Up 0.2%

Shares of Waterstone Financial stock opened at $21.09 on Friday. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $20.21 and its 200 day simple moving average is $18.92. The company has a market capitalization of $379.13 million, a PE ratio of 12.26 and a beta of 0.71. Waterstone Financial, Inc. has a 12 month low of $14.35 and a 12 month high of $21.50.

Waterstone Financial (NASDAQ:WSBF) last posted its earnings results 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). Waterstone Financial had a net margin of 14.57% and a return on equity of 8.64%. The business had revenue of $40.25 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $65.80 million.

Waterstone Financial Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, August 3rd. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, July 8th were issued a dividend of $0.17 per share. This represents a $0.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.2%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, July 8th. Waterstone Financial’s payout ratio is 39.53%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on WSBF. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Waterstone Financial in a research report on Friday, May 29th. Wall Street Zen cut shares of 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, According to MarketBeat.com, Waterstone Financial presently has a consensus rating of “Buy”.

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.