WaFd, Inc (NASDAQ:WAFD) Shares Acquired by BNP Paribas Financial Markets

BNP Paribas Financial Markets lifted its stake in shares of WaFd, Inc (NASDAQ:WAFD) by 69.3% in the third quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 28,997 shares of the bank’s stock after buying an additional 11,868 shares during the quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets’ holdings in WaFd were worth $1,011,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the stock. American Century Companies Inc. grew its position in shares of 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 buying an additional 305,942 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its position in shares of WaFd by 7.4% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,225,248 shares of the bank’s stock worth $42,700,000 after buying an additional 84,155 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its position in shares of WaFd by 1.3% during the second quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 728,619 shares of the bank’s stock worth $20,824,000 after buying an additional 9,262 shares in the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. acquired a new stake in shares of WaFd during the third quarter worth approximately $18,583,000. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its position in shares of WaFd by 28.6% during the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 428,504 shares of the bank’s stock worth $14,933,000 after buying an additional 95,251 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.71% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other 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 transaction of $404,359.56. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 100,376 shares of the company’s stock, 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 legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 2.25% of the company’s stock.

WaFd Stock Performance

Shares of WAFD opened at $35.77 on Wednesday. WaFd, Inc has a 1 year low of $25.78 and a 1 year high of $38.62. The company has a market cap of $2.91 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.42 and a beta of 0.84. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21, a quick ratio of 1.08 and a current ratio of 1.08. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $35.66 and a 200-day moving average of $33.33.

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

WaFd Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 6th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 22nd were issued a dividend of $0.26 per share. This represents a $1.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.91%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 22nd. WaFd’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 41.94%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

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