LSV Asset Management Reduces Stock Holdings in WaFd, Inc. $WAFD

LSV Asset Management lowered its holdings in shares of WaFd, Inc. (NASDAQ:WAFD) by 5.7% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 304,000 shares of the bank’s stock after selling 18,300 shares during the quarter. LSV Asset Management owned approximately 0.39% of WaFd worth $9,208,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Royal Bank of Canada grew its position in WaFd by 14.5% during the first quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 22,011 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $629,000 after buying an additional 2,783 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC raised its position in WaFd by 271.2% in the first quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 30,794 shares of the bank’s stock worth $867,000 after acquiring an additional 22,499 shares during the period. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. boosted its stake in shares of WaFd by 26.6% during the 1st quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 48,094 shares of the bank’s stock worth $1,375,000 after acquiring an additional 10,092 shares during the last quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC grew its position in shares of WaFd by 9.2% during the 1st quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 246,467 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $7,044,000 after acquiring an additional 20,865 shares during the period. Finally, Jane Street Group LLC grew its position in shares of WaFd by 862.6% during the 1st quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 69,306 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $1,981,000 after acquiring an additional 62,106 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 83.71% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

WaFd Stock Performance

NASDAQ:WAFD opened at $32.88 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $32.81 and a 200 day moving average price of $31.31. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.49 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.38 and a beta of 0.86. WaFd, Inc. has a 12-month low of $23.75 and a 12-month high of $34.29. The company has a current ratio of 0.95, a quick ratio of 0.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89.

WaFd (NASDAQ:WAFD) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 16th. The bank reported $0.75 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.76 by ($0.01). WaFd had a return on equity of 8.67% and a net margin of 17.45%.The business had revenue of $188.32 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $193.36 million. Equities research analysts forecast that WaFd, Inc. will post 2.56 EPS for the current fiscal year.

WaFd Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 27th. Investors of record on Friday, February 13th will be given a dividend of $0.27 per share. 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 currently 37.37%.

Insider Buying and Selling at WaFd

In related news, EVP Cathy E. Cooper sold 5,300 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on 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 transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 94,755 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,199,876.35. This trade represents a 5.30% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Brent J. Beardall purchased 3,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, December 3rd. The stock was bought at an average price of $16.85 per share, for a total transaction of $50,550.00. Following the purchase, the chief executive officer owned 6,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $101,100. This represents a 100.00% increase in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this purchase are available in the official SEC disclosure. Company insiders own 1.49% 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.