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

Waterstone Financial, Inc. (NASDAQ:WSBF - Get Free Report) saw a large drop in short interest in April. As of April 15th, there was short interest totalling 70,800 shares, a drop of 17.2% from the March 31st total of 85,500 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 50,900 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 1.4 days. Currently, 0.5% of the company's stock are short sold.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CFO Mark Raymond Gerke sold 2,738 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $14.14, for a total value of $38,715.32. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 30,334 shares in the company, valued at $428,922.76. The trade was a 8.28 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Stephen J. Schmidt sold 3,097 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $13.75, for a total transaction of $42,583.75. Following the sale, the director now owns 70,078 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $963,572.50. This represents a 4.23 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 49,546 shares of company stock worth $693,074 in the last three months. 8.30% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Waterstone Financial

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its position in Waterstone Financial by 16,614.3% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,340 shares of the savings and loans company's stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 2,326 shares during the last quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN grew its position in Waterstone Financial by 27.8% during the fourth quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN now owns 9,441 shares of the savings and loans company's stock valued at $127,000 after buying an additional 2,055 shares during the period. Deutsche Bank AG purchased a new stake in Waterstone Financial during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $143,000. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH purchased a new stake in Waterstone Financial during the first quarter valued at approximately $198,000. Finally, Quantinno Capital Management LP bought a new position in Waterstone Financial in the fourth quarter worth approximately $203,000. Institutional investors own 62.71% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Separately, StockNews.com lowered shares of Waterstone Financial from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, April 25th.

Waterstone Financial Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:WSBF traded up $0.03 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $12.39. 19,271 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 42,340. Waterstone Financial has a one year low of $11.61 and a one year high of $16.86. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $12.93 and a 200 day moving average of $13.80. The company has a market cap of $239.37 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.27 and a beta of 0.71. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64, a quick ratio of 1.36 and a current ratio of 1.48.

Waterstone Financial (NASDAQ:WSBF - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 22nd. The savings and loans company reported $0.17 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. The firm had revenue of $29.67 million for the quarter. Waterstone Financial had a net margin of 9.23% and a return on equity of 5.75%.

Waterstone Financial Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 1st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, April 8th were issued a dividend of $0.15 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, April 8th. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.84%. Waterstone Financial's payout ratio is 58.82%.

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.