William Blair Investment Management LLC Purchases 137,525 Shares of WaFd, Inc. $WAFD

William Blair Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of WaFd, Inc. (NASDAQ:WAFD) by 14.3% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,100,312 shares of the bank’s stock after buying an additional 137,525 shares during the period. William Blair Investment Management LLC owned 1.40% of WaFd worth $33,328,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of WAFD. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. lifted its position in WaFd by 42.8% during the 2nd quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 1,174 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $34,000 after acquiring an additional 352 shares during the period. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of WaFd by 2.7% during the third quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 14,070 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $426,000 after purchasing an additional 374 shares in the last quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System lifted its holdings in shares of WaFd by 0.6% during the second quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 75,005 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $2,196,000 after purchasing an additional 420 shares during the last quarter. McIlrath & Eck LLC boosted its position in shares of WaFd by 57.6% in the 2nd quarter. McIlrath & Eck LLC now owns 1,327 shares of the bank’s stock worth $39,000 after purchasing an additional 485 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. grew its stake in shares of WaFd by 36.0% in the 3rd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,837 shares of the bank’s stock worth $56,000 after buying an additional 486 shares during the last quarter. 83.71% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at WaFd

In other news, EVP Cathy E. Cooper sold 5,300 shares of the company’s 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 completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 94,755 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,199,876.35. This represents a 5.30% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Brent J. Beardall acquired 3,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, December 3rd. The stock was acquired at an average price of $16.85 per share, for a total transaction of $50,550.00. Following the purchase, the chief executive officer directly owned 6,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $101,100. This trade represents a 100.00% increase in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this purchase are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders own 1.49% of the company’s stock.

WaFd Stock Down 4.4%

WAFD opened at $31.16 on Monday. WaFd, Inc. has a twelve month low of $23.75 and a twelve month high of $34.29. The company has a quick ratio of 0.95, a current ratio of 0.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $32.72 and a 200-day moving average price of $31.52. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.36 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.78 and a beta of 0.85.

WaFd (NASDAQ:WAFD) last announced its earnings results on Friday, January 16th. The bank reported $0.75 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.76 by ($0.01). The company 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%. Equities research analysts forecast that WaFd, Inc. will post 2.56 earnings per share for the current year.

WaFd Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 27th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 13th were given a $0.27 dividend. This represents a $1.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 13th. WaFd’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 37.37%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have issued reports on WAFD shares. Royal Bank Of Canada set a $34.00 price objective on WaFd in a research note on Tuesday, January 20th. Wall Street Zen raised WaFd from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Sunday, February 8th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of WaFd in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price objective on shares of WaFd from $31.00 to $34.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 20th. Finally, Piper Sandler dropped their target price on shares of WaFd from $33.50 to $30.50 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, January 20th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating, Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $32.90.

WaFd 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.