Empowered Funds LLC Buys 61,364 Shares of WaFd, Inc. $WAFD

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% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 284,555 shares of the bank's stock after buying an additional 61,364 shares during the period. Empowered Funds LLC owned 0.35% of WaFd worth $8,133,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in WAFD. MetLife Investment Management LLC increased its stake in shares of WaFd by 1,576.8% in the first quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC now owns 683,003 shares of the bank's stock valued at $19,520,000 after buying an additional 642,270 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. boosted its position in shares of WaFd by 124.3% during the 1st quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,107,097 shares of the bank's stock valued at $31,641,000 after purchasing an additional 613,596 shares in the last quarter. Nuveen LLC bought a new stake in shares of WaFd during the 1st quarter valued at about $5,093,000. American Century Companies Inc. boosted its position in shares of WaFd by 9.8% during the 1st quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 1,948,534 shares of the bank's stock valued at $55,689,000 after purchasing an additional 174,453 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Victory Capital Management Inc. boosted 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 purchasing an additional 87,235 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.71% of the company's stock.

WaFd Stock Down 1.0%

NASDAQ:WAFD traded down $0.30 on Friday, hitting $31.25. The stock had a trading volume of 315,169 shares, compared to its average volume of 318,489. The business's fifty day moving average is $30.55 and its 200 day moving average is $29.16. The company has a market cap of $2.46 billion, a PE ratio of 11.88 and a beta of 0.93. The company has a quick ratio of 0.98, a current ratio of 0.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71. 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 posted its earnings results 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. WaFd had a return on equity of 8.57% and a net margin of 15.57%.The company had revenue of $186.26 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $184.47 million. On average, equities research analysts expect that WaFd, Inc. will post 2.56 EPS for the current fiscal year.

WaFd Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 5th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 22nd were issued a $0.27 dividend. This represents a $1.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.5%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 22nd. WaFd's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 41.06%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts recently commented on WAFD shares. Wall Street Zen upgraded WaFd from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, July 18th. DA Davidson upped 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 upped 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. Piper Sandler upped 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. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price target on WaFd from $30.00 to $32.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a report on Monday, July 21st. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating, Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $32.25.

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.