Waterstone Financial, Inc. (NASDAQ:WSBF) Director Michael L. Hansen Sells 35,290 Shares

Key Points

• Waterstone Financial's Director, Michael L. Hansen, sold 35,290 shares of stock for $491,236.80, reducing his position by 24.11%.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.15, resulting in an annualized yield of 4.2%, with a dividend payout ratio of 52.63%.
• Waterstone Financial's stock price recently increased by 1.0%, reaching $14.37, with a market capitalization of $268.43 million.

Waterstone Financial, Inc. (NASDAQ:WSBF - Get Free Report) Director Michael L. Hansen sold 35,290 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $13.92, for a total transaction of $491,236.80. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 111,068 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,546,066.56. This represents a 24.11% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link.

Waterstone Financial Stock Down 2.0%

Shares of Waterstone Financial stock traded down $0.29 on Friday, hitting $14.08. 29,776 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 49,916. The stock has a market cap of $263.01 million, a P/E ratio of 12.35 and a beta of 0.73. The firm's 50-day moving average is $13.68 and its 200 day moving average is $13.34. Waterstone Financial, Inc. has a 52-week low of $11.61 and a 52-week high of $16.86.

Waterstone Financial (NASDAQ:WSBF - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, July 22nd. The savings and loans company reported $0.43 EPS for the quarter. The company had revenue of $38.04 million during the quarter. Waterstone Financial had a return on equity of 6.07% and a net margin of 10.47%.

Waterstone Financial Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 1st. Investors of record on Tuesday, July 8th were paid a dividend of $0.15 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, July 8th. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.3%. Waterstone Financial's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 52.63%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Waterstone Financial

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Bridgeway Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in Waterstone Financial by 1.9% during the second quarter. Bridgeway Capital Management LLC now owns 438,837 shares of the savings and loans company's stock worth $6,060,000 after purchasing an additional 8,199 shares during the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE lifted its stake in Waterstone Financial by 44.7% during the second quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 37,012 shares of the savings and loans company's stock worth $511,000 after purchasing an additional 11,427 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in Waterstone Financial during the second quarter worth $28,000. Quantinno Capital Management LP lifted its stake in Waterstone Financial by 65.2% during the second quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP now owns 48,225 shares of the savings and loans company's stock worth $666,000 after purchasing an additional 19,025 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Fourthstone LLC lifted its stake in Waterstone Financial by 176.7% during the second quarter. Fourthstone LLC now owns 63,194 shares of the savings and loans company's stock worth $873,000 after purchasing an additional 40,357 shares during the last quarter. 62.71% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Separately, Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Waterstone Financial from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, April 25th.

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.