Royce & Associates LP Has $1.14 Million Position in WaFd, Inc (NASDAQ:WAFD)

Royce & Associates LP lessened its stake in shares of WaFd, Inc (NASDAQ:WAFD) by 35.6% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 32,663 shares of the bank’s stock after selling 18,040 shares during the period. Royce & Associates LP’s holdings in WaFd were worth $1,138,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. acquired a new stake in shares of WaFd during the 3rd quarter worth $18,583,000. American Century Companies Inc. lifted its position in WaFd by 31.6% during the second quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 1,274,665 shares of the bank’s stock worth $36,430,000 after purchasing an additional 305,942 shares during the period. Victory Capital Management Inc. grew its stake in WaFd by 113.4% during the second quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 272,721 shares of the bank’s stock worth $7,794,000 after buying an additional 144,920 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in WaFd by 1.6% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 7,902,461 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $229,408,000 after buying an additional 125,020 shares during the period. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its position in shares of WaFd by 28.6% in the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 428,504 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $14,933,000 after buying an additional 95,251 shares in the last quarter. 83.71% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently issued reports on WAFD. StockNews.com upgraded shares of WaFd from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 12th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reaffirmed a “market perform” rating and issued a $40.00 target price on shares of WaFd in a report on Monday, October 21st. Piper Sandler lowered their price target on WaFd from $36.00 to $35.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Monday, October 21st. Finally, DA Davidson raised their price objective on WaFd from $39.00 to $41.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, October 21st. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, WaFd currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $38.00.

Insider Activity at WaFd

In related news, EVP Ryan Mauer sold 12,132 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, November 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $33.33, for a total value of $404,359.56. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 100,376 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,345,532.08. The trade was a 10.78 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 2.25% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

WaFd Stock Performance

NASDAQ WAFD opened at $35.95 on Wednesday. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $35.25 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $32.47. The stock has a market cap of $2.92 billion, a PE ratio of 14.50 and a beta of 0.83. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21, a quick ratio of 1.09 and a current ratio of 1.08. WaFd, Inc has a fifty-two week low of $25.78 and a fifty-two week high of $38.58.

WaFd (NASDAQ:WAFD) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 17th. The bank reported $0.71 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.70 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $389.98 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $190.43 million. WaFd had a return on equity of 9.44% and a net margin of 13.97%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.72 EPS. On average, equities analysts expect that WaFd, Inc will post 2.82 EPS for the current fiscal year.

WaFd Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 6th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 22nd will be paid a $0.26 dividend. This represents a $1.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.89%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 22nd. WaFd’s dividend payout ratio is currently 41.94%.

WaFd Company Profile

WaFd, Inc operates as the bank holding company for Washington Federal Bank that provides lending, depository, insurance, and other banking services in the United States. The company offers deposit products, including business and personal checking accounts, and term certificates of deposit, as well as money market accounts and passbook savings accounts.