What happened with WSBF today?
No read yet
Uses news and trading volume to explain the day’s move and how it relates to the market.
Stop guessing. Get the call, a three-month target price, the best and worst cases, and a source for every claim.
Waterstone Financial, Inc. operates two connected businesses. WaterStone Bank takes deposits from people and businesses, mainly in southeastern Wisconsin, and uses deposits and borrowings to fund loans it keeps on its books. Borrowers pay interest, and the bank earns the difference between that income and its funding costs. This business supplies most of the company’s net interest income. Lending centers on real estate around Milwaukee, with multifamily housing the largest loan category. Most customer deposits are certificates of deposit, which make funding more expensive than a mix with more checking and savings accounts.
Waterstone Mortgage Corporation helps homebuyers and homeowners obtain mortgages, then sells those loans to investors rather than keeping most of them. Gains on these sales supply most of the company’s noninterest income. Most originations finance home purchases rather than refinancing. This business depends on mortgage demand and investors’ willingness to buy loans through Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, Ginnie Mae and private-investor programs. Its limited ability to retain fixed-rate mortgages makes continued access to that market important.
The bank’s lending business depends heavily on local borrowers’ ability to repay and local property values. Banking regulators can restrict the company’s activities, capital levels, dividends and expansion.
The risk section is the longest, dullest part of the filing. This keeps only what can really hurt you: where it hits, how hard, when it plays out.
Every company claims an edge. Each one is checked against hard numbers like margins and returns: which hold, and which line gives way first.
Provident Financial Hldgs shares WaterStone’s exposure to property borrowers and deposit costs: both use locally gathered deposits to fund single-family, multifamily and commercial property loans they keep on their books. Provident’s interest income from those loans offers a comparison for WaterStone’s property-lending business, though its customers are in Southern California’s Inland Empire rather than Wisconsin.
BCB Bancorp and WaterStone face similar property-loan and funding pressures because both use community-bank deposits to finance multifamily buildings, commercial properties and homes. Watch BCB’s ability to attract low-cost deposits, which it credits to local relationships and personalized service, as a comparison for WaterStone’s deposit costs.
Great Southern Bancorp shares both sides of WaterStone’s lending business: both use deposits to fund residential and commercial property loans and also make home loans to sell to other buyers in the secondary market. Great Southern’s sales of longer-term fixed-rate home loans provide a comparison for WaterStone’s mortgage-sale business, distinct from the loans each bank keeps for interest income.
Western New England Bancorp and WaterStone are both exposed to property borrowers’ ability to repay and the gap between loan income and funding costs, because residential and commercial real estate dominate their loan portfolios. At December 31, 2025, commercial real estate made up 50.4% of Western New England’s gross loans and residential real estate 39.3%, making those loan categories the ones to watch for comparison with WaterStone.
Sound Financial Bancorp and WaterStone share exposure to property-loan repayments and funding costs: both use deposits and borrowings to finance homes, multifamily buildings and commercial properties. Sound’s competition for household and business deposits through account rates and service provides a comparison for the funding side of WaterStone’s lending business.
Lake Shore Bancorp and WaterStone both rely on deposits to fund property loans, so borrower repayment and the cost of those deposits matter to both. Watch Lake Shore’s commercial real estate loans, including construction: they were 58.8% of gross loans at December 31, 2025, with most collateral in Erie and Chautauqua Counties, New York, rather than WaterStone’s Wisconsin markets.
Capitol Federal Financial and WaterStone share funding-cost exposure because both use deposits and Federal Home Loan Bank borrowings to finance residential mortgages and commercial loans. Capitol Federal’s interest earned less interest paid on deposits and borrowings—its net interest income—is the result to watch, as it expands commercial banking while continuing to lend against owner-occupied one- to four-family homes.
Capital City Bank Group shares WaterStone’s exposure to both deposit-and-loan banking and making residential mortgages for sale to other buyers in the secondary market. Watch the loans its retail mortgage business originates and sells in the Southeast as a comparison for WaterStone’s mortgage banking, which has offices in 24 states and can lend in 48 states.
Capital City Bank Group Inc earningsCCBG
Capital City Bank Group's report shows whether its residential mortgage originations and sales in the Southeast are holding up, offering a comparison for Waterstone Financial's mortgage-loan sales business.
Look at the volume of residential mortgages Capital City Bank Group originates and sells. Steady or rising volume suggests demand in its region and the outlet for selling loans to secondary-market buyers are holding up, a useful comparison for Waterstone Financial's similar business. Falling volume would point to pressure on that channel. The banks operate in different regions, so this is a market read, not a substitute for Waterstone Financial's own results.
Housing Starts (Sep)
New-home building and sales track the supply of homes that can support Waterstone Mortgage’s purchase-loan originations, which generally earn higher margins than refinance loans and generate income when sold.
Expected1.31MLast release1.275M
If it comes in above expectations
If the reading is above the 1.31M estimate, it is above the previous 1.275M. More building and sales can expand available homes and support Waterstone Mortgage’s purchase-loan originations, helping sustain its higher-margin purchase mix and loan-sale income.
If it comes in below expectations
Less building and sales can limit available homes and weigh on Waterstone Mortgage’s purchase-loan originations, potentially reducing its higher-margin purchase mix and loan-sale income.
Waterstone Financial, Inc. earningsThis company
Waterstone Financial's community bank generates most of its net interest income, while its mortgage business earns income by selling loans; this report shows whether both sources are holding up.
Read net interest income alongside mortgage banking income. Net interest income is the interest earned on loans and other assets minus the interest paid on deposits and borrowings; if it holds up or rises, the community bank is still covering its funding costs. Then look at whether mortgage originations and the gross margin on loans originated and sold support mortgage banking income. If both improve and that income grows, loan sales are contributing more; if both weaken and income falls, mortgage volume or income per loan is under pressure. Together, these figures show which business is supporting Waterstone Financial's income and which is under strain.
Capitol Federal Financial, Inc. earningsCFFN
Capitol Federal's report shows how much interest income remains after it pays for deposits and Federal Home Loan Bank borrowings, a comparison for Waterstone Financial's funding costs.
Look at Capitol Federal's net interest income: the interest it earns on loans and other assets minus the interest it pays on deposits and Federal Home Loan Bank borrowings. If it holds up or rises, the bank is still covering its funding costs, a useful sign to compare with the pressures Waterstone Financial faces. If it falls, funding costs may be squeezing the interest left over. The banks have different assets and markets, so this is a clue about funding conditions, not a result for Waterstone Financial.
Fed Interest Rate Decision
Interest rates shape what WaterStone Bank earns on loans versus what it pays depositors and lenders, while also influencing Waterstone Mortgage’s loan originations and income from selling them.
Expected4.0%Last release4.0%
If it comes in above expectations
Higher rates can raise WaterStone Bank’s deposit and borrowing costs faster than its loan yields, squeezing net interest income, and may slow Waterstone Mortgage’s originations and loan-sale income.
If it comes in below expectations
Lower rates can ease WaterStone Bank’s deposit and borrowing costs, but may also lower yields as funds are reinvested; they can support Waterstone Mortgage’s originations and loan-sale income.
