Waterstone Financial, Inc. (NASDAQ:WSBF) Sees Large Drop in Short Interest

Waterstone Financial, Inc. (NASDAQ:WSBF) was the target of a large decrease in short interest in the month of October. As of October 15th, there was short interest totalling 100,600 shares, a decrease of 33.2% from the September 30th total of 150,600 shares. Approximately 0.6% of the company’s shares are short sold. Based on an average trading volume of 33,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 3.0 days.

Waterstone Financial Stock Down 2.7 %

Shares of NASDAQ:WSBF opened at $14.60 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.39, a current ratio of 1.57 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.97. Waterstone Financial has a 52-week low of $9.85 and a 52-week high of $16.36. The company has a 50 day moving average of $14.78 and a two-hundred day moving average of $13.50. The company has a market capitalization of $284.12 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.00 and a beta of 0.63.

Waterstone Financial (NASDAQ:WSBF) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 25th. The savings and loans company reported $0.31 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. Waterstone Financial had a net margin of 6.79% and a return on equity of 4.19%. The company had revenue of $37.18 million during the quarter.

Waterstone Financial Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 1st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, October 8th will be given a $0.15 dividend. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.11%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, October 8th. Waterstone Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 82.19%.

Insider Transactions at Waterstone Financial

In related news, Director Ellen Syburg Bartel sold 3,565 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $15.00, for a total transaction of $53,475.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 15,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $225,000. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In related news, Director Ellen Syburg Bartel sold 3,565 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $15.00, for a total transaction of $53,475.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 15,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $225,000. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Michael L. Hansen sold 5,569 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $15.00, for a total transaction of $83,535.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 79,872 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,198,080. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 30,459 shares of company stock worth $456,448 in the last three months. Company insiders own 8.30% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Waterstone Financial

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in Waterstone Financial by 0.3% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,018,828 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock valued at $12,399,000 after acquiring an additional 3,531 shares in the last quarter. Foundry Partners LLC grew its position in shares of Waterstone Financial by 6.2% during the second quarter. Foundry Partners LLC now owns 171,860 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock worth $2,198,000 after buying an additional 10,000 shares in the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. grew its position in shares of Waterstone Financial by 1.4% during the second quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 158,780 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock worth $2,031,000 after buying an additional 2,188 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its position in shares of Waterstone Financial by 4.5% during the second quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 90,978 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock worth $1,164,000 after buying an additional 3,926 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Empowered Funds LLC grew its position in shares of Waterstone Financial by 8.1% during the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 65,276 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock worth $794,000 after buying an additional 4,900 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 62.71% of the company’s stock.

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.