Blue Trust Inc. Boosts Stock Position in WaFd, Inc (NASDAQ:WAFD)

Blue Trust Inc. increased its holdings in shares of WaFd, Inc (NASDAQ:WAFD) by 80.8% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 1,188 shares of the bank’s stock after buying an additional 531 shares during the quarter. Blue Trust Inc.’s holdings in WaFd were worth $41,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in WaFd by 1.6% in 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. American Century Companies Inc. increased 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 purchasing an additional 305,942 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its holdings 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 during the last quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC boosted its holdings in WaFd by 2.2% in the 1st quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 606,140 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $17,596,000 after purchasing an additional 12,910 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Davidson Investment Advisors boosted its stake in shares of WaFd by 4.2% during the 2nd quarter. Davidson Investment Advisors now owns 279,791 shares of the bank’s stock worth $7,996,000 after acquiring an additional 11,220 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.71% of the company’s stock.

WaFd Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:WAFD opened at $33.57 on Friday. The business’s 50 day moving average is $35.26 and its 200-day moving average is $31.69. The company has a current ratio of 1.08, a quick ratio of 1.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.73 billion, a PE ratio of 13.73 and a beta of 0.83. WaFd, Inc has a 1-year low of $24.66 and a 1-year high of $37.49.

WaFd (NASDAQ:WAFD) last released its earnings results on Thursday, October 17th. The bank reported $0.71 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.70 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $389.98 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $190.43 million. WaFd had a return on equity of 9.44% and a net margin of 13.97%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.72 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts predict that WaFd, Inc will post 2.99 earnings per share for the current year.

WaFd Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 6th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 23rd were given a dividend of $0.26 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 23rd. This represents a $1.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.10%. WaFd’s dividend payout ratio is currently 41.94%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have weighed in on WAFD. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reiterated a “market perform” rating and issued a $40.00 price target on shares of WaFd in a report on Monday, October 21st. DA Davidson raised their price target 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. Stephens upped their price target on shares of WaFd from $32.00 to $36.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, July 18th. Piper Sandler dropped their price target on WaFd from $36.00 to $35.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, October 21st. Finally, StockNews.com lowered WaFd from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 3rd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $38.00.

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.