Empowered Funds LLC Raises Stock Holdings in Waterstone Financial, Inc. (NASDAQ:WSBF)

Empowered Funds LLC lifted its holdings in Waterstone Financial, Inc. (NASDAQ:WSBF) by 5.0% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 77,773 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock after purchasing an additional 3,705 shares during the quarter. Empowered Funds LLC owned 0.40% of Waterstone Financial worth $1,045,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. John G Ullman & Associates Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Waterstone Financial by 165.0% in the 3rd quarter. John G Ullman & Associates Inc. now owns 90,826 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock valued at $1,335,000 after purchasing an additional 56,554 shares during the last quarter. Foundry Partners LLC raised its holdings in Waterstone Financial by 19.4% during the 3rd quarter. Foundry Partners LLC now owns 205,165 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock valued at $3,016,000 after buying an additional 33,305 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its position in Waterstone Financial by 73.0% in the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 51,913 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock worth $763,000 after buying an additional 21,902 shares during the last quarter. GSA Capital Partners LLP purchased a new position in Waterstone Financial during the third quarter worth $291,000. Finally, FMR LLC increased its position in Waterstone Financial by 26.6% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 71,039 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock valued at $1,044,000 after acquiring an additional 14,919 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 62.71% of the company’s stock.

Waterstone Financial Stock Up 2.2 %

Shares of NASDAQ:WSBF opened at $14.70 on Tuesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $284.74 million, a PE ratio of 14.55 and a beta of 0.64. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $13.61 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $14.39. Waterstone Financial, Inc. has a 1 year low of $10.60 and a 1 year high of $16.86. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64, a current ratio of 1.48 and a quick ratio of 1.36.

Waterstone Financial (NASDAQ:WSBF) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, January 28th. The savings and loans company reported $0.28 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. Waterstone Financial had a return on equity of 5.75% and a net margin of 9.23%.

Waterstone Financial Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, February 3rd. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, January 8th were issued a $0.15 dividend. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.08%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, January 8th. Waterstone Financial’s payout ratio is presently 59.41%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Separately, StockNews.com upgraded shares of Waterstone Financial from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 4th.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Waterstone Financial news, Director Stephen J. Schmidt sold 6,211 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $13.79, for a total value of $85,649.69. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 70,078 shares in the company, valued at $966,375.62. This represents a 8.14 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Insiders have sold 37,079 shares of company stock valued at $528,589 in the last 90 days. Company insiders own 8.30% of the company’s stock.

About Waterstone Financial

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.