AlphaQuest LLC Has $29,000 Stake in WaFd, Inc. $WAFD

Key Points

• AlphaQuest LLC significantly reduced its stake in WaFd, Inc. by 96.7% during the first quarter, ending up with only 1,002 shares valued at approximately $29,000.
• WaFd, Inc. experienced a quarterly earnings beat with an EPS of $0.73, surpassing estimates by $0.06, and reported revenue of $186.26 million.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.27 per share, yielding 3.4%, with the ex-dividend date set for August 22nd.

AlphaQuest LLC trimmed its holdings in shares of WaFd, Inc. (NASDAQ:WAFD - Free Report) by 96.7% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 1,002 shares of the bank's stock after selling 29,022 shares during the quarter. AlphaQuest LLC's holdings in WaFd were worth $29,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. increased its position in WaFd by 3.5% during the first quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 13,892 shares of the bank's stock worth $397,000 after buying an additional 468 shares during the last quarter. KBC Group NV increased its position in WaFd by 12.7% during the first quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 4,239 shares of the bank's stock worth $121,000 after buying an additional 477 shares during the last quarter. TD Private Client Wealth LLC increased its position in WaFd by 35.2% during the first quarter. TD Private Client Wealth LLC now owns 2,002 shares of the bank's stock worth $57,000 after buying an additional 521 shares during the last quarter. Neuberger Berman Group LLC increased its position in WaFd by 4.7% during the first quarter. Neuberger Berman Group LLC now owns 12,164 shares of the bank's stock worth $348,000 after buying an additional 549 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Brooklyn Investment Group acquired a new position in WaFd during the first quarter worth $28,000. 83.71% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on the stock. DA Davidson upped their price target on shares of WaFd from $29.00 to $33.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Monday, July 21st. Piper Sandler upped their price target on shares of WaFd from $30.00 to $31.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Monday, July 21st. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price target on shares of WaFd from $30.00 to $32.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a report on Monday, July 21st. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of WaFd from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, July 18th. Finally, Stephens upped their price target on shares of WaFd from $32.00 to $33.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Monday, July 21st. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating, Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $32.25.

WaFd Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ WAFD traded down $0.20 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $31.75. The company had a trading volume of 360,412 shares, compared to its average volume of 350,418. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71, a current ratio of 0.98 and a quick ratio of 0.98. The business's 50-day simple moving average is $30.47 and its 200-day simple moving average is $29.09. WaFd, Inc. has a 12 month low of $23.75 and a 12 month high of $38.62. The firm has a market cap of $2.50 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.07 and a beta of 0.93.

WaFd (NASDAQ:WAFD - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, July 17th. The bank reported $0.73 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.67 by $0.06. WaFd had a net margin of 15.57% and a return on equity of 8.57%. The business had revenue of $186.26 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $184.47 million. As a group, analysts predict that WaFd, Inc. will post 2.56 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

WaFd Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 5th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 22nd were paid a dividend of $0.27 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 22nd. This represents a $1.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.4%. WaFd's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 41.06%.

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.