WaFd (NASDAQ:WAFD) EVP Sells $178,981.00 in Stock

WaFd, Inc. (NASDAQ:WAFD) EVP Cathy Cooper sold 5,300 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $33.77, for a total value of $178,981.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 94,755 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,199,876.35. This represents a 5.30% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link.

WaFd Stock Performance

NASDAQ:WAFD traded up $0.12 during trading on Friday, reaching $33.71. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 634,475 shares, compared to its average volume of 602,015. WaFd, Inc. has a 12 month low of $23.75 and a 12 month high of $34.29. The firm has a market cap of $2.58 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.66 and a beta of 0.86. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $32.67 and a 200-day moving average of $31.16. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89, a quick ratio of 0.96 and a current ratio of 0.95.

WaFd (NASDAQ:WAFD) last issued its quarterly 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 during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $193.36 million. WaFd had a return on equity of 8.67% and a net margin of 17.45%. Research analysts expect that WaFd, Inc. will post 2.56 EPS for the current fiscal year.

WaFd Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 27th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 13th will be paid a $0.27 dividend. This represents a $1.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.2%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 13th. WaFd’s payout ratio is presently 37.37%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms recently commented on WAFD. Wall Street Zen downgraded WaFd from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Saturday, January 31st. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of WaFd in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price objective on WaFd from $31.00 to $34.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 20th. Piper Sandler lowered 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. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada set a $34.00 target price on shares of WaFd in a research report on Tuesday, January 20th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating, Based on data from MarketBeat.com, WaFd currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $32.90.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. ProShare Advisors LLC grew its holdings in WaFd by 2.0% during the 4th quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 15,162 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $486,000 after buying an additional 304 shares in the last quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of WaFd in the fourth quarter worth about $273,000. AlphaCore Capital LLC boosted its position in shares of WaFd by 99.7% in the fourth quarter. AlphaCore Capital LLC now owns 33,530 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $1,074,000 after acquiring an additional 16,740 shares during the period. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund grew its stake in WaFd by 1.7% during the fourth quarter. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund now owns 18,056 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $578,000 after acquiring an additional 300 shares in the last quarter. Finally, New York State Teachers Retirement System grew its stake in WaFd by 5.6% during the fourth quarter. New York State Teachers Retirement System now owns 126,857 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $4,063,000 after acquiring an additional 6,751 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 83.71% of the company’s stock.

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.