Ieq Capital LLC Takes Position in Waterstone Financial, Inc. $WSBF

Ieq Capital LLC bought a new stake in shares of Waterstone Financial, Inc. (NASDAQ:WSBF) during the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund bought 31,878 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock, valued at approximately $661,000.

Several other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the stock. AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in Waterstone Financial by 16.7% during the first quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 45,595 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock valued at $613,000 after buying an additional 6,512 shares during the period. Empowered Funds LLC increased its stake in Waterstone Financial by 7.5% in the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 83,591 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock worth $1,124,000 after acquiring an additional 5,818 shares during the last quarter. Jane Street Group LLC raised its holdings in shares of Waterstone Financial by 29.8% in the 1st quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 25,843 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock valued at $348,000 after acquiring an additional 5,928 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of 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 valued at $5,618,000 after acquiring an additional 4,108 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Rhumbline Advisers boosted its position in shares of Waterstone Financial by 6.7% during the 2nd quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 26,848 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock valued at $371,000 after acquiring an additional 1,676 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 62.71% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have recently commented on the company. Wall Street Zen lowered Waterstone Financial from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, August 8th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Waterstone Financial in a research note on Wednesday. One analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Buy”.

Waterstone Financial Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ WSBF opened at $21.07 on Friday. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $20.40 and its 200 day moving average is $19.01. Waterstone Financial, Inc. has a 52 week low of $14.52 and a 52 week high of $21.50. The company has a market cap of $378.84 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.25 and a beta of 0.71.

Waterstone Financial (NASDAQ:WSBF) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 23rd. The savings and loans company reported $0.49 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.66 by ($0.17). The firm had revenue of $40.25 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $65.80 million. Waterstone Financial had a net margin of 14.57% and a return on equity of 8.64%.

Waterstone Financial Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, August 3rd. Investors of record on Wednesday, July 8th were paid a $0.17 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, July 8th. This represents a $0.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.2%. Waterstone Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 39.53%.

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.