CIBC Asset Management Inc Acquires Shares of 7,086 WaFd, Inc (NASDAQ:WAFD)

CIBC Asset Management Inc bought a new stake in shares of WaFd, Inc (NASDAQ:WAFD) during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 7,086 shares of the bank’s stock, valued at approximately $247,000.

Several other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Sei Investments Co. increased its stake in WaFd by 29.1% in the 1st quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 26,467 shares of the bank’s stock worth $768,000 after buying an additional 5,972 shares during the period. Russell Investments Group Ltd. increased its position in shares of WaFd by 17,472.3% in the 1st quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 8,259 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $240,000 after acquiring an additional 8,212 shares during the period. State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System grew its position in WaFd by 62.6% during the 1st quarter. State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System now owns 30,426 shares of the bank’s stock worth $916,000 after purchasing an additional 11,714 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of WaFd by 1.6% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 7,902,461 shares of the bank’s stock worth $229,408,000 after purchasing an additional 125,020 shares during the period. Finally, Ameritas Investment Partners Inc. grew its holdings in WaFd by 5.7% in the first quarter. Ameritas Investment Partners Inc. now owns 6,887 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $200,000 after purchasing an additional 373 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 83.71% of the company’s stock.

WaFd Stock Performance

Shares of WAFD stock opened at $37.15 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.08, a quick ratio of 1.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21. WaFd, Inc has a 12-month low of $25.78 and a 12-month high of $38.58. The company has a market cap of $3.02 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.98 and a beta of 0.83. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $35.30 and a 200-day simple moving average of $32.57.

WaFd (NASDAQ:WAFD) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 17th. The bank reported $0.71 earnings per share (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 during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $190.43 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.72 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts forecast that WaFd, Inc will post 2.82 EPS for the current year.

WaFd Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 6th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 22nd will be given a $0.26 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 22nd. This represents a $1.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.80%. WaFd’s dividend payout ratio is currently 41.94%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

WAFD has been the subject of several research reports. DA Davidson upped their price objective on shares of WaFd from $39.00 to $41.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, October 21st. Piper Sandler reduced their price objective on WaFd from $36.00 to $35.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, October 21st. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reaffirmed a “market perform” rating and issued a $40.00 price target on shares of WaFd 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 given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $38.00.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Ryan Mauer sold 12,132 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $33.33, for a total transaction of $404,359.56. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 100,376 shares in the company, valued at $3,345,532.08. This represents a 10.78 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 2.25% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.