How Should Investors React To Waterstone Financial, Inc.'s (NASDAQ:WSBF) CEO Pay?
Doug Gordon has been the CEO of Waterstone Financial, Inc. (NASDAQ:WSBF) since 2007. First, this article will compare CEO compensation with compensation at similar sized companies. After that, we will consider the growth in the business. And finally - as a second measure of performance - we will look at the returns shareholders have received over the last few years. This method should give us information to assess how appropriately the company pays the CEO.
Check out our latest analysis for Waterstone Financial
How Does Doug Gordon's Compensation Compare With Similar Sized Companies?
According to our data, Waterstone Financial, Inc. has a market capitalization of US$469m, and paid its CEO total annual compensation worth US$988k over the year to December 2018. We think total compensation is more important but we note that the CEO salary is lower, at US$850k. We examined companies with market caps from US$200m to US$800m, and discovered that the median CEO total compensation of that group was US$1.7m.
This would give shareholders a good impression of the company, since most similar size companies have to pay more, leaving less for shareholders. However, before we heap on the praise, we should delve deeper to understand business performance.
You can see, below, how CEO compensation at Waterstone Financial has changed over time.
Is Waterstone Financial, Inc. Growing?
Over the last three years Waterstone Financial, Inc. has grown its earnings per share (EPS) by an average of 8.3% per year (using a line of best fit). Revenue was pretty flat on last year.
I'd prefer higher revenue growth, but I'm happy with the modest EPS growth. It's clear the performance has been quite decent, but it it falls short of outstanding,based on this information. Although we don't have analyst forecasts you could get a better understanding of its growth by checking out this more detailed historical graph of earnings, revenue and cash flow.
Has Waterstone Financial, Inc. Been A Good Investment?
Waterstone Financial, Inc. has generated a total shareholder return of 21% over three years, so most shareholders would be reasonably content. But they would probably prefer not to see CEO compensation far in excess of the median.
In Summary...
It appears that Waterstone Financial, Inc. remunerates its CEO below most similar sized companies.
Doug Gordon receives relatively low remuneration compared to similar sized companies. But the company isn't exactly firing on all cylinders, from my perspective. However I do not find the CEO compensation to be concerning. CEO compensation is one thing, but it is also interesting to check if the CEO is buying or selling Waterstone Financial (free visualization of insider trades).
Important note: Waterstone Financial may not be the best stock to buy. You might find something better in this list of interesting companies with high ROE and low debt.
If you spot an error that warrants correction, please contact the editor at editorial-team@simplywallst.com. This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. Simply Wall St has no position in the stocks mentioned.
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