The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company Decreases Stock Holdings in WaFd, Inc (NASDAQ:WAFD)

The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company reduced its stake in shares of WaFd, Inc (NASDAQ:WAFD) by 1.9% in the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 39,619 shares of the bank’s stock after selling 755 shares during the quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company’s holdings in WaFd were worth $1,381,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Blue Trust Inc. raised its stake in WaFd by 80.8% in the third quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,188 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $41,000 after buying an additional 531 shares during the last quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. raised its stake in WaFd by 100.0% in the second quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 1,644 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $47,000 after buying an additional 822 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its stake in WaFd by 515.8% in the third quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,558 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $54,000 after buying an additional 1,305 shares during the last quarter. Covestor Ltd raised its stake in WaFd by 60.1% in the third quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 1,904 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $66,000 after buying an additional 715 shares during the last quarter. Finally, nVerses Capital LLC purchased a new stake in WaFd in the second quarter valued at about $80,000. 83.71% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

WaFd Stock Down 0.3 %

WaFd stock opened at $35.77 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $2.91 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.42 and a beta of 0.84. WaFd, Inc has a 52 week low of $25.78 and a 52 week high of $38.62. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $35.66 and its 200 day moving average price is $33.33. The company has a quick ratio of 1.08, a current ratio of 1.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21.

WaFd (NASDAQ:WAFD) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, October 17th. The bank reported $0.71 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.70 by $0.01. WaFd had a return on equity of 9.44% and a net margin of 13.97%. The firm had revenue of $389.98 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $190.43 million. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.72 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that WaFd, Inc will post 2.82 earnings per share for the current year.

WaFd Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 6th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 22nd were issued a $0.26 dividend. This represents a $1.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.91%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 22nd. WaFd’s payout ratio is currently 41.94%.

Insider Buying and Selling at WaFd

In related news, EVP Ryan Mauer sold 12,132 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $33.33, for a total transaction of $404,359.56. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 100,376 shares in the company, valued at approximately $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 Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 2.25% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have commented on the company. DA Davidson increased their price target on WaFd from $39.00 to $41.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, October 21st. Piper Sandler decreased their price target on WaFd from $36.00 to $35.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, October 21st. StockNews.com upgraded WaFd from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 12th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods restated a “market perform” rating and issued a $40.00 price objective on shares of WaFd in a research note on Monday, October 21st. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $38.00.

About WaFd

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.