Empowered Funds LLC Acquires 3,752 Shares of Waterstone Financial, Inc. (NASDAQ:WSBF)

Empowered Funds LLC lifted its position in Waterstone Financial, Inc. (NASDAQ:WSBF) by 5.3% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 74,068 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock after buying an additional 3,752 shares during the quarter. Empowered Funds LLC owned about 0.38% of Waterstone Financial worth $1,089,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of WSBF. State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System bought a new stake in shares of Waterstone Financial during the 1st quarter worth about $176,000. CWM LLC raised its stake in Waterstone Financial by 63.3% in the second quarter. CWM LLC now owns 3,588 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock valued at $46,000 after purchasing an additional 1,391 shares in the last quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets lifted its position in Waterstone Financial by 62.9% during the first quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 8,398 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock worth $102,000 after purchasing an additional 3,243 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in Waterstone Financial by 0.3% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,018,828 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock valued at $12,399,000 after buying an additional 3,531 shares during the period. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Waterstone Financial by 1.4% during the 2nd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 158,780 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock worth $2,031,000 after acquiring an additional 2,188 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 62.71% of the company’s stock.

Waterstone Financial Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:WSBF opened at $15.22 on Friday. Waterstone Financial, Inc. has a 1 year low of $10.60 and a 1 year high of $16.86. The stock has a market capitalization of $294.81 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.85 and a beta of 0.63. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64, a current ratio of 1.48 and a quick ratio of 1.36. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $14.99 and its 200 day simple moving average is $13.97.

Waterstone Financial Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 1st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, October 8th were issued a dividend of $0.15 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, October 8th. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.94%. Waterstone Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 82.19%.

Insider Activity at Waterstone Financial

In other news, Director Stephen J. Schmidt sold 4,209 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, November 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $16.04, for a total transaction of $67,512.36. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 70,078 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,124,051.12. The trade was a 5.67 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Ellen Syburg Bartel sold 15,030 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $15.00, for a total transaction of $225,450.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 15,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $225,000. This trade represents a 50.05 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 37,792 shares of company stock valued at $573,079 over the last ninety days. 8.30% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.