Waterstone Financial (NASDAQ:WSBF) Stock Passes Above Two Hundred Day Moving Average – Time to Sell?

Waterstone Financial, Inc. (NASDAQ:WSBF) crossed above its 200-day moving average during trading on Thursday . The stock has a 200-day moving average of $17.84 and traded as high as $19.60. Waterstone Financial shares last traded at $19.21, with a volume of 79,096 shares.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have issued reports on WSBF. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Waterstone Financial in a research report on Friday, May 29th. Wall Street Zen downgraded Waterstone Financial from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, May 9th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Buy”.

Waterstone Financial Price Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.19, a current ratio of 1.29 and a quick ratio of 1.19. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $18.52 and its 200 day simple moving average is $17.84. The company has a market capitalization of $346.74 million, a PE ratio of 11.57 and a beta of 0.74.

Waterstone Financial (NASDAQ:WSBF) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 23rd. The savings and loans company reported $0.34 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.66 by ($0.32). Waterstone Financial had a return on equity of 8.48% and a net margin of 14.28%.The company had revenue of $35.69 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $65.80 million.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CFO Mark Raymond Gerke sold 10,000 shares of Waterstone Financial stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $18.34, for a total transaction of $183,400.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 30,034 shares in the company, valued at $550,823.56. This trade represents a 24.98% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 6.00% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Waterstone Financial

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Teton Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Waterstone Financial in the 3rd quarter valued at about $920,000. Donald Smith & CO. Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Waterstone Financial in the 4th quarter valued at about $2,115,000. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV purchased a new position in Waterstone Financial during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $165,000. Simplex Trading LLC grew its stake in Waterstone Financial by 69.3% during the 4th quarter. Simplex Trading LLC now owns 2,306 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock worth $38,000 after buying an additional 944 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in Waterstone Financial during the second quarter worth approximately $28,000. Hedge funds and other 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.