GAMMA Investing LLC Raises Position in WaFd, Inc. (NASDAQ:WAFD)

GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its position in WaFd, Inc. (NASDAQ:WAFD - Free Report) by 2,337.2% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 40,555 shares of the bank's stock after acquiring an additional 38,891 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC's holdings in WaFd were worth $1,159,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in WAFD. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd lifted its position in WaFd by 983.5% during the fourth quarter. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd now owns 1,116 shares of the bank's stock valued at $36,000 after buying an additional 1,013 shares during the period. Harbour Investments Inc. boosted its stake in WaFd by 29.6% during the fourth quarter. Harbour Investments Inc. now owns 1,752 shares of the bank's stock worth $56,000 after acquiring an additional 400 shares in the last quarter. US Bancorp DE grew its holdings in WaFd by 136.7% in the fourth quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 3,638 shares of the bank's stock worth $117,000 after purchasing an additional 2,101 shares during the period. Aquatic Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in WaFd in the fourth quarter worth about $141,000. Finally, Cibc World Markets Corp bought a new position in shares of WaFd during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $202,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.71% of the company's stock.

WaFd Stock Up 1.0%

Shares of WAFD stock traded up $0.29 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $27.92. The company's stock had a trading volume of 465,154 shares, compared to its average volume of 540,115. The stock has a market cap of $2.24 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.54 and a beta of 0.85. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.01, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a current ratio of 1.02. WaFd, Inc. has a 52-week low of $23.75 and a 52-week high of $38.62. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $28.48 and a 200 day moving average price of $29.78.

WaFd (NASDAQ:WAFD - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Friday, April 11th. The bank reported $0.65 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.60 by $0.05. The business had revenue of $179.79 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $184.17 million. WaFd had a net margin of 15.13% and a return on equity of 8.74%. Research analysts predict that WaFd, Inc. will post 2.56 EPS for the current fiscal year.

WaFd Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 6th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 23rd were paid a dividend of $0.27 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 23rd. This represents a $1.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.87%. WaFd's dividend payout ratio is currently 40.75%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have recently commented on the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their price target on WaFd from $32.00 to $30.00 and set a "market perform" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 16th. Stephens reissued an "equal weight" rating and issued a $29.00 target price on shares of WaFd in a research note on Monday, April 14th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised WaFd from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, April 12th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, According to data from MarketBeat.com, WaFd has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $30.50.

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.