Bank of America Corp DE Sells 78,224 Shares of WaFd, Inc (NASDAQ:WAFD)

Bank of America Corp DE lessened its stake in shares of WaFd, Inc (NASDAQ:WAFD - Free Report) by 12.3% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 557,548 shares of the bank's stock after selling 78,224 shares during the period. Bank of America Corp DE owned about 0.68% of WaFd worth $17,975,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in WAFD. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd boosted its position in shares of WaFd by 983.5% in the fourth quarter. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd now owns 1,116 shares of the bank's stock valued at $36,000 after acquiring an additional 1,013 shares during the period. Harbour Investments Inc. lifted its position in WaFd by 29.6% during the fourth quarter. Harbour Investments Inc. now owns 1,752 shares of the bank's stock valued at $56,000 after purchasing an additional 400 shares during the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. lifted its position in WaFd by 68.4% during the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 2,000 shares of the bank's stock valued at $70,000 after purchasing an additional 812 shares during the last quarter. US Bancorp DE lifted its holdings in shares of WaFd by 136.7% in the 4th quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 3,638 shares of the bank's stock worth $117,000 after acquiring an additional 2,101 shares during the last quarter. Finally, KBC Group NV lifted its holdings in shares of WaFd by 34.5% in the 4th quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 3,762 shares of the bank's stock worth $121,000 after acquiring an additional 965 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.71% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts recently commented on WAFD shares. Wall Street Zen raised shares of WaFd from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, April 12th. Stephens reissued an "equal weight" rating and set a $29.00 price objective on shares of WaFd in a research report on Monday, April 14th. DA Davidson downgraded shares of WaFd from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and reduced their target price for the stock from $35.00 to $32.00 in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their price target on shares of WaFd from $32.00 to $30.00 and set a "market perform" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 16th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $30.50.

WaFd Stock Performance

WAFD traded down $0.37 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $28.47. 752,559 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 538,099. The company has a quick ratio of 1.04, a current ratio of 1.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.05. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.28 billion, a PE ratio of 13.12 and a beta of 0.85. The company's 50-day moving average is $28.05 and its 200 day moving average is $30.67. WaFd, Inc has a 52 week low of $23.75 and a 52 week high of $38.62.

WaFd (NASDAQ:WAFD - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, April 11th. The bank reported $0.65 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.60 by $0.05. WaFd had a net margin of 12.66% and a return on equity of 8.78%. The firm had revenue of $179.79 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $184.17 million. On average, research analysts expect that WaFd, Inc will post 2.56 EPS for the current year.

WaFd Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 6th. Investors of record on Friday, May 23rd will be issued a $0.27 dividend. This represents a $1.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.79%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 23rd. WaFd's dividend payout ratio is 40.75%.

WaFd 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.