BNP Paribas Financial Markets Reduces Stock Position in WaFd, Inc (NASDAQ:WAFD)

BNP Paribas Financial Markets trimmed its holdings in shares of WaFd, Inc (NASDAQ:WAFD - Free Report) by 36.7% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 18,367 shares of the bank's stock after selling 10,630 shares during the quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets' holdings in WaFd were worth $592,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Algert Global LLC purchased a new position in shares of WaFd during the fourth quarter worth about $448,000. Rhino Investment Partners Inc raised its stake in WaFd by 344.3% in the fourth quarter. Rhino Investment Partners Inc now owns 454,343 shares of the bank's stock valued at $14,648,000 after purchasing an additional 352,076 shares in the last quarter. Comerica Bank lifted its position in WaFd by 18.4% during the fourth quarter. Comerica Bank now owns 68,804 shares of the bank's stock valued at $2,218,000 after purchasing an additional 10,677 shares during the last quarter. Aquatic Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in WaFd in the 4th quarter worth approximately $141,000. Finally, Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. grew its stake in WaFd by 1.2% in the 4th quarter. Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. now owns 3,696,480 shares of the bank's stock worth $119,175,000 after buying an additional 42,096 shares in the last quarter. 83.71% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

WaFd Trading Up 1.7%

Shares of WaFd stock traded up $0.47 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $28.94. The company's stock had a trading volume of 414,675 shares, compared to its average volume of 537,606. The company has a market cap of $2.32 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.34 and a beta of 0.85. The firm's 50-day moving average is $28.05 and its two-hundred day moving average is $30.67. WaFd, Inc has a 52-week low of $23.75 and a 52-week high of $38.62. The company has a quick ratio of 1.04, a current ratio of 1.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.05.

WaFd (NASDAQ:WAFD - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, April 11th. The bank reported $0.65 earnings per share (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 business had revenue of $179.79 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $184.17 million. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that WaFd, Inc will post 2.56 earnings per share for the current year.

WaFd Dividend Announcement

The business 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 dividend of $0.27 per share. This represents a $1.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.73%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 23rd. WaFd's dividend payout ratio is presently 40.75%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

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.