WaFd, Inc (NASDAQ:WAFD) Shares Sold by Dean Capital Management

Dean Capital Management decreased its position in WaFd, Inc (NASDAQ:WAFD - Free Report) by 43.7% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 25,456 shares of the bank's stock after selling 19,753 shares during the quarter. Dean Capital Management's holdings in WaFd were worth $821,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of WaFd by 1.8% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 9,420,004 shares of the bank's stock valued at $303,701,000 after buying an additional 166,931 shares during the period. Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. increased its stake in WaFd by 1.2% during the fourth quarter. Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. now owns 3,696,480 shares of the bank's stock worth $119,175,000 after purchasing an additional 42,096 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. lifted its position in shares of WaFd by 15.3% during the fourth quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 1,774,081 shares of the bank's stock worth $57,196,000 after purchasing an additional 234,977 shares in the last quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC lifted its position in shares of WaFd by 2.5% during the fourth quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC now owns 929,760 shares of the bank's stock worth $29,975,000 after purchasing an additional 22,716 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its stake in shares of WaFd by 4.1% in the fourth quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 736,564 shares of the bank's stock valued at $23,747,000 after purchasing an additional 28,849 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.71% of the company's stock.

WaFd Stock Up 3.5%

Shares of WaFd stock traded up $1.00 during trading on Monday, hitting $29.91. 786,248 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 601,643. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.05, a current ratio of 1.04 and a quick ratio of 1.04. The firm's 50-day moving average price is $27.82 and its 200 day moving average price is $31.10. The stock has a market cap of $2.40 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.78 and a beta of 0.85. WaFd, Inc has a 12-month low of $23.75 and a 12-month high of $38.62.

WaFd (NASDAQ:WAFD - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Friday, April 11th. The bank reported $0.65 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.60 by $0.05. The firm had revenue of $179.79 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $184.17 million. WaFd had a return on equity of 8.78% and a net margin of 12.66%. As a group, analysts forecast that WaFd, Inc will post 2.56 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

WaFd Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 7th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 21st were given a dividend of $0.27 per share. This represents a $1.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.61%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 21st. This is an increase from WaFd's previous quarterly dividend of $0.26. WaFd's payout ratio is currently 40.75%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on WAFD shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their target price on shares of WaFd from $32.00 to $30.00 and set a "market perform" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 16th. Piper Sandler decreased their target price on WaFd from $37.00 to $31.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. DA Davidson cut WaFd from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and lowered their target price for the stock from $35.00 to $32.00 in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. StockNews.com raised WaFd from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, April 12th. Finally, Stephens reiterated an "equal weight" rating and issued a $29.00 price objective on shares of WaFd in a research note on Monday, April 14th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, According to data from MarketBeat, WaFd presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $30.50.

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.