WaFd, Inc (NASDAQ:WAFD) Stock Position Decreased by Cornercap Investment Counsel Inc.

Cornercap Investment Counsel Inc. cut its stake in shares of WaFd, Inc (NASDAQ:WAFD) by 2.5% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 34,008 shares of the bank’s stock after selling 866 shares during the period. Cornercap Investment Counsel Inc.’s holdings in WaFd were worth $1,121,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its stake in WaFd by 1.2% during the first quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 906,332 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $29,745,000 after buying an additional 11,031 shares in the last quarter. Citigroup Inc. raised its stake in WaFd by 60.1% during the 1st quarter. Citigroup Inc. now owns 43,493 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $1,428,000 after purchasing an additional 16,323 shares during the period. Bank of Montreal Can raised its stake in WaFd by 120.1% during the 1st quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 13,329 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $455,000 after purchasing an additional 7,274 shares during the period. MetLife Investment Management LLC raised its stake in WaFd by 39.7% during the 1st quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC now owns 75,272 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $2,470,000 after purchasing an additional 21,388 shares during the period. Finally, Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS boosted its position in shares of WaFd by 10.7% in the first quarter. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS now owns 23,904 shares of the bank’s stock worth $785,000 after buying an additional 2,305 shares during the period. 83.71% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

WaFd Stock Up 0.7 %

WAFD stock traded up $0.18 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $27.03. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 29,170 shares, compared to its average volume of 352,760. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $27.84 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $28.23. WaFd, Inc has a 12 month low of $23.36 and a 12 month high of $34.07. The company has a market capitalization of $1.75 billion, a PE ratio of 7.87 and a beta of 0.85. The company has a quick ratio of 1.15, a current ratio of 1.15 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.80.

WaFd (NASDAQ:WAFD) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, January 16th. The bank reported $0.85 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.77 by $0.08. The firm had revenue of $166.40 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $180.45 million. WaFd had a net margin of 20.58% and a return on equity of 11.19%. WaFd’s revenue for the quarter was down 14.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.16 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts expect that WaFd, Inc will post 2.58 earnings per share for the current year.

WaFd Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 8th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 23rd were issued a dividend of $0.26 per share. This is a positive change from WaFd’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 22nd. This represents a $1.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.85%. WaFd’s dividend payout ratio is currently 30.50%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on WAFD shares. DA Davidson reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $35.00 target price on shares of WaFd in a report on Thursday. Stephens restated an “equal weight” rating and set a $35.00 price target on shares of WaFd in a report on Wednesday, January 17th. StockNews.com cut WaFd from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 21st. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their target price on WaFd from $37.00 to $35.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 18th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $33.50.

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.