WaFd, Inc. $WAFD Position Boosted by Empowered Funds LLC

Key Points

• Empowered Funds LLC increased its holdings in WaFd, Inc. by 27.5% in Q1, owning a total of 284,555 shares valued at approximately $8.13 million.
• Wall Street analysts have given WaFd a consensus rating of "Hold" with an average price target of $32.25, reflecting optimism regarding its growth.
• WaFd recently declared a quarterly dividend of $0.27 per share, providing a yield of 3.4%, with a payout ratio currently at 41.06%.

Empowered Funds LLC grew its stake in WaFd, Inc. (NASDAQ:WAFD - Free Report) by 27.5% during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 284,555 shares of the bank's stock after purchasing an additional 61,364 shares during the quarter. Empowered Funds LLC owned approximately 0.35% of WaFd worth $8,133,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of WAFD. Brooklyn Investment Group purchased a new stake in WaFd in the first quarter worth $28,000. TD Private Client Wealth LLC lifted its stake in shares of WaFd by 35.2% in the 1st quarter. TD Private Client Wealth LLC now owns 2,002 shares of the bank's stock valued at $57,000 after acquiring an additional 521 shares during the last quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd lifted its stake in shares of WaFd by 232.4% in the 1st quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd now owns 1,978 shares of the bank's stock valued at $57,000 after acquiring an additional 1,383 shares during the last quarter. KBC Group NV increased its holdings in WaFd by 12.7% during the 1st quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 4,239 shares of the bank's stock valued at $121,000 after purchasing an additional 477 shares during the period. Finally, XTX Topco Ltd purchased a new position in WaFd during the 1st quarter valued at about $263,000. 83.71% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

WAFD has been the topic of several recent research reports. DA Davidson upped their price target on WaFd from $29.00 to $33.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Monday, July 21st. Stephens increased their price target on WaFd from $32.00 to $33.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Monday, July 21st. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased 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 raised shares of WaFd from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, July 18th. Finally, Piper Sandler lifted their price objective on shares of WaFd from $30.00 to $31.00 and gave the company a "neutral" 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 company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $32.25.

WaFd Trading Down 0.3%

Shares of NASDAQ:WAFD traded down $0.09 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $31.16. 105,679 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 536,648. The firm has a market cap of $2.46 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.83 and a beta of 0.93. WaFd, Inc. has a 1 year low of $23.75 and a 1 year high of $38.62. 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 firm's 50-day simple moving average is $30.55 and its 200 day simple moving average is $29.16.

WaFd (NASDAQ:WAFD - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 17th. The bank reported $0.73 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.67 by $0.06. The firm had revenue of $186.26 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $184.47 million. WaFd had a net margin of 15.57% and a return on equity of 8.57%. Equities research analysts forecast that WaFd, Inc. will post 2.56 EPS for the current year.

WaFd Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 5th. Investors of record on Friday, August 22nd were given a dividend of $0.27 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 22nd. This represents a $1.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.5%. WaFd's dividend payout ratio is 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.