Waterstone Financial (NASDAQ:WSBF) Stock Rating Upgraded by Wall Street Zen

Waterstone Financial (NASDAQ:WSBF) was upgraded by equities researchers at Wall Street Zen from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Saturday.

Separately, Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Waterstone Financial in a research note on Friday, May 29th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, Based on data from MarketBeat, Waterstone Financial presently has a consensus rating of “Buy”.

Waterstone Financial Stock Up 3.1%

NASDAQ WSBF opened at $20.06 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $362.08 million, a PE ratio of 11.66 and a beta of 0.71. Waterstone Financial has a one year low of $13.08 and a one year high of $21.03. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $19.33 and its 200 day simple moving average is $18.44. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.19, a current ratio of 1.29 and a quick ratio of 1.19.

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 the consensus estimate of $0.66 by ($0.17). The business had revenue of $40.25 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $65.80 million. Waterstone Financial had a net margin of 14.57% and a return on equity of 8.66%.

Insider Activity at Waterstone Financial

In related news, CFO Mark Raymond Gerke sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $18.34, for a total value of $183,400.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer owned 30,034 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $550,823.56. This trade represents a 24.98% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 6.00% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Donald Smith & CO. Inc. bought a new position in Waterstone Financial in the 4th quarter valued at $2,115,000. Fourthstone LLC raised its position in shares of Waterstone Financial by 55.3% during the fourth quarter. Fourthstone LLC now owns 199,702 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock worth $3,305,000 after acquiring an additional 71,143 shares during the last quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership raised its position in shares of Waterstone Financial by 30.5% during the second quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 190,766 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock worth $2,634,000 after acquiring an additional 44,618 shares during the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Waterstone Financial by 21.6% during the fourth quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 201,704 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock valued at $3,338,000 after acquiring an additional 35,828 shares during the period. Finally, Russell Investments Group Ltd. lifted its stake in shares of Waterstone Financial by 728.8% during the third quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 25,329 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock valued at $395,000 after acquiring an additional 22,273 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 62.71% of the company’s stock.

Waterstone Financial Company Profile

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.