Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. Trims Stock Position in WaFd, Inc. $WAFD

Key Points

• Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. reduced its stake in WaFd, Inc. by 3.0% in Q1, owning 1.45% of the bank with a value of $33.76 million after selling 37,148 shares.
• The company is set to pay a $0.27 quarterly dividend on September 5th, representing a 3.5% annual yield with a payout ratio of 41.06%.
• Analysts have recently adjusted their price targets for WaFd, with a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $32.25.

Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. decreased its position in WaFd, Inc. (NASDAQ:WAFD - Free Report) by 3.0% in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 1,181,298 shares of the bank's stock after selling 37,148 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. owned about 1.45% of WaFd worth $33,761,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in WAFD. Rhino Investment Partners Inc increased its holdings 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 buying an additional 352,076 shares in the last quarter. Basswood Capital Management L.L.C. purchased a new position in shares of WaFd during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $9,210,000. Invesco Ltd. lifted its position in shares of WaFd by 63.6% during the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 493,501 shares of the bank's stock valued at $15,910,000 after buying an additional 191,855 shares in the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of WaFd by 46.9% during the 1st quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 273,094 shares of the bank's stock valued at $7,805,000 after buying an additional 87,235 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Systematic Financial Management LP lifted its position in shares of WaFd by 5.2% during the 4th quarter. Systematic Financial Management LP now owns 1,506,368 shares of the bank's stock valued at $48,565,000 after buying an additional 73,845 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.71% of the company's stock.

WaFd Price Performance

WAFD stock traded up $1.29 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $31.73. The stock had a trading volume of 558,109 shares, compared to its average volume of 455,577. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $29.86 and its 200 day simple moving average is $28.99. The company has a current ratio of 0.98, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71. The company has a market cap of $2.50 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.06 and a beta of 0.90. 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 announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 17th. The bank reported $0.73 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.67 by $0.06. The company had revenue of $186.26 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $184.47 million. WaFd had a return on equity of 8.57% and a net margin of 15.57%. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that WaFd, Inc. will post 2.56 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

WaFd Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 5th. Investors of record on Friday, August 22nd will be issued a $0.27 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 22nd. This represents a $1.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.4%. WaFd's dividend payout ratio is currently 41.06%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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

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.