Congress Asset Management Co. Acquires 15,938 Shares of WaFd, Inc (NASDAQ:WAFD)

Congress Asset Management Co. lifted its holdings in shares of WaFd, Inc (NASDAQ:WAFD) by 7.5% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 227,039 shares of the bank’s stock after purchasing an additional 15,938 shares during the period. Congress Asset Management Co.’s holdings in WaFd were worth $7,320,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Sanctuary Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in WaFd during the 2nd quarter valued at about $252,000. SG Americas Securities LLC purchased a new stake in shares of WaFd during the third quarter valued at approximately $194,000. Blue Trust Inc. grew its holdings in shares of WaFd by 80.8% in the third quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,188 shares of the bank’s stock worth $41,000 after purchasing an additional 531 shares during the last quarter. Brighton Jones LLC increased its stake in shares of WaFd by 18.3% in the third 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. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. bought a new stake in WaFd during the 3rd quarter valued at $18,583,000. Institutional investors own 83.71% of the company’s stock.

WaFd Stock Down 0.6 %

WaFd stock opened at $29.77 on Monday. WaFd, Inc has a one year low of $25.78 and a one year high of $38.62. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $31.67 and a 200 day moving average of $34.04. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.05, a quick ratio of 1.08 and a current ratio of 1.04. The stock has a market cap of $2.43 billion, a PE ratio of 13.72 and a beta of 0.85.

WaFd Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 7th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 21st will be given a dividend of $0.27 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 21st. This represents a $1.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.63%. This is a positive change from WaFd’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.26. WaFd’s dividend payout ratio is presently 47.93%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

WAFD has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. DA Davidson downgraded shares of WaFd from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and lowered their price objective for the company from $35.00 to $32.00 in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Piper Sandler lowered their price target on WaFd from $37.00 to $31.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. Stephens reiterated an “equal weight” rating and issued a $38.00 price objective on shares of WaFd in a research report on Friday, January 17th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their target price on WaFd from $42.00 to $34.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of WaFd from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 12th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, According to data from MarketBeat.com, WaFd has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $33.75.

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.