LSV Asset Management Sells 18,300 Shares of WaFd, Inc. $WAFD

LSV Asset Management reduced its position in shares of WaFd, Inc. (NASDAQ:WAFD) by 5.7% in the third quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 304,000 shares of the bank’s stock after selling 18,300 shares during the quarter. LSV Asset Management’s holdings in WaFd were worth $9,208,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. raised its stake in WaFd by 42.8% during the second quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 1,174 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $34,000 after purchasing an additional 352 shares in the last quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System increased its holdings in shares of WaFd by 0.6% in the 2nd quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 75,005 shares of the bank’s stock worth $2,196,000 after buying an additional 420 shares during the last quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. raised its position in shares of WaFd by 3.5% during the 2nd quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. now owns 13,846 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $405,000 after buying an additional 470 shares in the last quarter. McIlrath & Eck LLC lifted its holdings in shares of WaFd by 57.6% in the 2nd quarter. McIlrath & Eck LLC now owns 1,327 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $39,000 after acquiring an additional 485 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. grew its position in WaFd by 36.0% in the third quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,837 shares of the bank’s stock worth $56,000 after acquiring an additional 486 shares in the last quarter. 83.71% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at WaFd

In related news, CEO Brent J. Beardall purchased 3,000 shares of WaFd stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, December 3rd. The shares were bought at an average price of $16.85 per share, with a total value of $50,550.00. Following the purchase, the chief executive officer directly owned 6,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $101,100. This represents a 100.00% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Cathy E. Cooper sold 5,300 shares of WaFd stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $33.77, for a total transaction of $178,981.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 94,755 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,199,876.35. The trade was a 5.30% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Corporate insiders own 1.49% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. Piper Sandler reduced their price objective on WaFd from $33.50 to $30.50 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, January 20th. Royal Bank Of Canada set a $34.00 target price on WaFd in a report on Tuesday, January 20th. Wall Street Zen upgraded WaFd from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Sunday, February 8th. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of WaFd in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price objective on shares of WaFd from $31.00 to $34.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 20th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating, According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $32.90.

WaFd Trading Up 0.6%

Shares of NASDAQ WAFD opened at $32.88 on Friday. WaFd, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $23.75 and a fifty-two week high of $34.29. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89, a quick ratio of 0.95 and a current ratio of 0.95. The company has a market cap of $2.49 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.38 and a beta of 0.86. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $32.81 and its 200-day moving average price is $31.31.

WaFd (NASDAQ:WAFD) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 16th. The bank reported $0.75 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.76 by ($0.01). The business had revenue of $188.32 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $193.36 million. WaFd had a net margin of 17.45% and a return on equity of 8.67%. On average, sell-side analysts expect that WaFd, Inc. will post 2.56 earnings per share for the current year.

WaFd Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 27th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 13th will be issued a $0.27 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 13th. This represents a $1.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.3%. WaFd’s dividend payout ratio is presently 37.37%.

About WaFd

Washington Federal, Inc, doing business as WaFd Bank, is a publicly traded bank holding company headquartered in Seattle, Washington. Through its subsidiary, WaFd Bank, the company provides a range of banking and financial services to individuals, small-to-medium enterprises, and commercial clients. Established in 1917 as Ballard Savings & Loan in Seattle, the institution expanded over decades to serve customers across the Western United States under the Washington Federal name and has operated as a public company since the early 1980s.

WaFd Bank’s core offerings encompass deposit accounts such as checking, savings, money market, and certificates of deposit, alongside consumer and commercial lending products.