Nisa Investment Advisors LLC Lowers Stock Position in WaFd, Inc (NASDAQ:WAFD)

Nisa Investment Advisors LLC lessened its position in shares of WaFd, Inc (NASDAQ:WAFD) by 23.9% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 3,424 shares of the bank’s stock after selling 1,074 shares during the quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC’s holdings in WaFd were worth $119,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. State of Alaska Department of Revenue grew its position in shares of WaFd by 16.8% during the 3rd quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue now owns 46,347 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $1,615,000 after acquiring an additional 6,672 shares during the period. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale purchased a new position in WaFd during the third quarter worth approximately $250,000. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System grew its holdings in WaFd by 15.6% in the third quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System now owns 39,300 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $1,370,000 after purchasing an additional 5,300 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. purchased a new stake in shares of WaFd in the third quarter valued at approximately $18,583,000. Finally, Brighton Jones LLC raised its stake in shares of WaFd by 18.3% during the 3rd quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 11,422 shares of the bank’s stock worth $398,000 after buying an additional 1,766 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.71% of the company’s stock.

WaFd Price Performance

WaFd stock opened at $36.68 on Friday. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $35.12 and a 200-day simple moving average of $31.97. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.98 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.79 and a beta of 0.83. The company has a quick ratio of 1.09, a current ratio of 1.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21. WaFd, Inc has a 52-week low of $24.66 and a 52-week high of $38.17.

WaFd (NASDAQ:WAFD) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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 analysts’ expectations of $190.43 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.72 EPS. On average, equities analysts anticipate that WaFd, Inc will post 2.99 EPS for the current fiscal year.

WaFd Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 6th. Investors of record on Friday, August 23rd were issued a $0.26 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 23rd. This represents a $1.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.84%. WaFd’s dividend payout ratio is presently 41.94%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on WAFD shares. Piper Sandler dropped their price target on shares of WaFd from $36.00 to $35.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, October 21st. Stephens lifted their target price on shares of WaFd from $32.00 to $36.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 18th. DA Davidson boosted their target price on shares of WaFd from $39.00 to $41.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, October 21st. StockNews.com lowered shares of WaFd from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 3rd. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reiterated a “market perform” rating and set a $40.00 price objective on shares of WaFd in a research note on Monday, October 21st. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, WaFd presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $38.00.

Insider Activity at WaFd

In other WaFd news, EVP Ryan Mauer sold 12,132 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, November 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $33.33, for a total value 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 $3,345,532.08. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Insiders own 2.25% of the company’s stock.

WaFd 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.