36,931 Shares in WaFd, Inc. $WAFD Acquired by The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company

The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company bought a new stake in WaFd, Inc. (NASDAQ:WAFD) during the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm bought 36,931 shares of the bank’s stock, valued at approximately $1,417,000.

Several other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of WAFD. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund grew its stake in WaFd by 1.7% in the 4th quarter. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund now owns 18,056 shares of the bank’s stock worth $578,000 after buying an additional 300 shares in the last quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC grew its position in WaFd by 2.0% in the fourth quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 15,162 shares of the bank’s stock worth $486,000 after acquiring an additional 304 shares in the last quarter. Baron Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in WaFd by 3.8% in the first quarter. Baron Wealth Management LLC now owns 8,720 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $274,000 after acquiring an additional 323 shares during the last quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC increased its stake in WaFd by 3.8% in the fourth quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC now owns 9,539 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $306,000 after acquiring an additional 350 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. raised its position 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. 83.71% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

WaFd Stock Up 0.1%

WAFD opened at $35.98 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $2.66 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.35 and a beta of 0.83. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $37.26 and its 200-day moving average price is $35.05. The company has a current ratio of 0.98, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.20. WaFd, Inc. has a 12 month low of $26.31 and a 12 month high of $39.49.

WaFd (NASDAQ:WAFD) last issued its earnings results on Friday, July 17th. The bank reported $0.81 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.82 by ($0.01). WaFd had a net margin of 18.47% and a return on equity of 8.98%. The company had revenue of $205.52 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $199.56 million. On average, equities analysts expect that WaFd, Inc. will post 3.23 EPS for the current year.

WaFd Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 4th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 21st will be paid a dividend of $0.27 per share. This represents a $1.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 21st. WaFd’s dividend payout ratio is 34.07%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

WAFD has been the subject of a number of research reports. DA Davidson upped their price objective on WaFd from $38.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, July 20th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b)” rating on shares of WaFd in a research note on Wednesday, August 19th. Finally, Zacks Research downgraded shares of WaFd from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, June 22nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $37.00.

WaFd Company Profile

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.