WaFd, Inc. $WAFD Shares Sold by Vanguard Group Inc.

Vanguard Group Inc. cut its stake in WaFd, Inc. (NASDAQ:WAFD) by 3.0% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 9,051,670 shares of the bank’s stock after selling 276,555 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. owned about 11.49% of WaFd worth $274,175,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. American Century Companies Inc. boosted its stake in shares of WaFd by 4.5% in the 2nd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 2,036,490 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $59,628,000 after buying an additional 87,956 shares during the period. Systematic Financial Management LP grew its holdings in WaFd by 0.7% during the 2nd quarter. Systematic Financial Management LP now owns 1,541,973 shares of the bank’s stock worth $45,149,000 after acquiring an additional 10,646 shares in the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. increased its position in shares of WaFd by 4.2% in the 2nd quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 1,229,464 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $35,999,000 after purchasing an additional 49,049 shares during the last quarter. First Trust Advisors LP raised its holdings in shares of WaFd by 2.9% in the 2nd quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 656,705 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $19,228,000 after purchasing an additional 18,401 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE raised its holdings in shares of WaFd by 7.1% in the 2nd quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 562,653 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $16,474,000 after purchasing an additional 37,400 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.71% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

WAFD has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Royal Bank Of Canada set a $34.00 target price on WaFd in a report on Tuesday, January 20th. Piper Sandler dropped their price objective on WaFd from $33.50 to $30.50 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 20th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of WaFd in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Wall Street Zen raised WaFd from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Sunday, February 8th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price objective 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 analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating, Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $32.90.

WaFd Stock Down 4.4%

Shares of NASDAQ WAFD opened at $31.16 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $2.36 billion, a PE ratio of 10.78 and a beta of 0.86. The company has a quick ratio of 0.95, a current ratio of 0.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89. WaFd, Inc. has a 52-week low of $23.75 and a 52-week high of $34.29. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $32.72 and a 200 day moving average price of $31.52.

WaFd (NASDAQ:WAFD) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 16th. The bank reported $0.75 EPS 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 firm had revenue of $188.32 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $193.36 million. Equities research analysts forecast that WaFd, Inc. will post 2.56 earnings per share for the current year.

WaFd Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 27th. Investors of record on Friday, February 13th were given a $0.27 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 13th. This represents a $1.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.5%. WaFd’s dividend payout ratio is 37.37%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other WaFd news, CEO Brent J. Beardall acquired 3,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, December 3rd. The shares were bought at an average cost of $16.85 per share, for a total transaction of $50,550.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the chief executive officer owned 6,000 shares in the company, valued at $101,100. This trade represents a 100.00% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Cathy E. Cooper sold 5,300 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 6th. The stock was 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. This trade represents a 5.30% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. 1.49% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.