WaFd, Inc (NASDAQ:WAFD) Shares Sold by Congress Asset Management Co.

Congress Asset Management Co. lowered its holdings in shares of WaFd, Inc (NASDAQ:WAFD) by 1.0% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 211,101 shares of the bank’s stock after selling 2,101 shares during the period. Congress Asset Management Co.’s holdings in WaFd were worth $7,357,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of WAFD. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. purchased a new position in shares of WaFd in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $18,583,000. American Century Companies Inc. grew its position in WaFd by 31.6% in the 2nd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 1,274,665 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $36,430,000 after buying an additional 305,942 shares during the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. grew its position in WaFd by 113.4% in the 2nd quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 272,721 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $7,794,000 after buying an additional 144,920 shares during the last quarter. Foundry Partners LLC increased its stake in WaFd by 113.8% in the 1st quarter. Foundry Partners LLC now owns 261,656 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $7,596,000 after buying an additional 139,244 shares during the period. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 125,020 shares during the period. 83.71% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

WaFd Price Performance

WAFD stock opened at $33.98 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $2.76 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.70 and a beta of 0.83. 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 50 day moving average of $35.29 and a 200-day moving average of $31.67. WaFd, Inc has a 12-month low of $24.18 and a 12-month high of $37.49.

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. The firm had revenue of $389.98 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $190.43 million. WaFd had a return on equity of 9.44% and a net margin of 13.97%. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.72 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts expect that WaFd, Inc will post 2.99 EPS for the current fiscal year.

WaFd Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 6th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 23rd were issued a $0.26 dividend. This represents a $1.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.06%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 23rd. WaFd’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 41.94%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

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.