Waterstone Financial, Inc. (NASDAQ:WSBF) Sees Significant Increase in Short Interest

Key Points

• Short interest jumped 31.2% in March to 180,081 shares (about 1.1% of the stock), leaving a short-interest ratio of 2.2 days based on average daily volume.
• Dividend raised to $0.17 quarterly, equivalent to $0.68 annually and a 3.7% yield, with an ex-dividend date of April 8 and payment on May 1.
• Analyst sentiment is positive—Wall Street Zen upgraded WSBF to "Buy," Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a buy, and MarketBeat shows a consensus "Buy" rating.

Waterstone Financial, Inc. (NASDAQ:WSBF - Get Free Report) was the recipient of a large growth in short interest in the month of March. As of March 31st, there was short interest totaling 180,081 shares, a growth of 31.2% from the March 15th total of 137,212 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 81,510 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 2.2 days. Approximately 1.1% of the company's stock are short sold.

Analyst Ratings Changes

WSBF has been the topic of several analyst reports. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "buy (b-)" rating on shares of Waterstone Financial in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Waterstone Financial from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Saturday, March 7th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Buy".

Waterstone Financial Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:WSBF opened at $18.56 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.20, a current ratio of 1.30 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.18. Waterstone Financial has a fifty-two week low of $11.85 and a fifty-two week high of $18.88. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $18.04 and a 200 day simple moving average of $16.81. The company has a market cap of $337.05 million, a PE ratio of 12.46 and a beta of 0.77.

Waterstone Financial (NASDAQ:WSBF - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 28th. The savings and loans company reported $0.44 earnings per share for the quarter. Waterstone Financial had a net margin of 13.12% and a return on equity of 7.67%. The business had revenue of $37.17 million during the quarter.

Waterstone Financial Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 1st. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, April 8th will be paid a dividend of $0.17 per share. This represents a $0.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, April 8th. This is a positive change from Waterstone Financial's previous quarterly dividend of $0.15. Waterstone Financial's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 45.64%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Douglas S. Gordon sold 2,880 shares of Waterstone Financial stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $18.11, for a total transaction of $52,156.80. Following the sale, the director owned 556,773 shares of the company's stock, valued at $10,083,159.03. The trade was a 0.51% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Patrick S. Lawton sold 19,255 shares of Waterstone Financial stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $18.64, for a total transaction of $358,913.20. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold 106,780 shares of company stock valued at $1,967,486 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 8.30% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Bridgeway Capital Management LLC grew its position in Waterstone Financial by 1.9% in the 2nd 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. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in 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 worth $5,618,000 after purchasing an additional 4,108 shares during the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC grew its position in Waterstone Financial by 21.6% in the 4th quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 201,704 shares of the savings and loans company's stock worth $3,338,000 after purchasing an additional 35,828 shares during the last quarter. Fourthstone LLC grew its position in Waterstone Financial by 55.3% in the 4th quarter. Fourthstone LLC now owns 199,702 shares of the savings and loans company's stock worth $3,305,000 after purchasing an additional 71,143 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership grew its position in Waterstone Financial by 30.5% in the 2nd quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 190,766 shares of the savings and loans company's stock worth $2,634,000 after purchasing an additional 44,618 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors 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.

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