Jones Financial Companies Lllp Buys 77,541 Shares of WaFd, Inc. $WAFD

Key Points

• Jones Financial Companies Lllp significantly increased its stake in WaFd, Inc. by 131,425.4%, owning about 0.10% of the company worth $2.22 million after purchasing 77,541 additional shares in the first quarter.
• Several research firms have raised their target prices for WaFd stock, with an average price target of $32.25 and a consensus rating of "Hold" from analysts.
• WaFd recently declared a quarterly dividend of $0.27 per share, resulting in an annualized yield of 3.4% and a payout ratio of 41.06%.

Jones Financial Companies Lllp raised its holdings in shares of WaFd, Inc. (NASDAQ:WAFD - Free Report) by 131,425.4% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 77,600 shares of the bank's stock after acquiring an additional 77,541 shares during the quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp owned approximately 0.10% of WaFd worth $2,218,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Brooklyn Investment Group bought a new stake in WaFd during the first quarter valued at about $28,000. TD Private Client Wealth LLC raised its holdings in WaFd by 35.2% during the first 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 period. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd raised its holdings in WaFd by 232.4% during the first 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 period. KBC Group NV raised its holdings in WaFd by 12.7% during the first quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 4,239 shares of the bank's stock valued at $121,000 after acquiring an additional 477 shares during the period. Finally, XTX Topco Ltd bought a new stake in WaFd during the first quarter valued at about $263,000. 83.71% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

WaFd Trading Up 1.5%

NASDAQ WAFD traded up $0.46 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $31.49. The stock had a trading volume of 40,430 shares, compared to its average volume of 535,598. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a current ratio of 0.98. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.48 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.97 and a beta of 0.93. WaFd, Inc. has a one year low of $23.75 and a one year high of $38.62. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $30.56 and a 200 day simple moving average of $29.18.

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

WaFd Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 5th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 22nd were paid a dividend of $0.27 per share. This represents a $1.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 22nd. WaFd's payout ratio is currently 41.06%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

WAFD has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. DA Davidson raised their price target on WaFd from $29.00 to $33.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Monday, July 21st. Piper Sandler raised their price objective on WaFd from $30.00 to $31.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Monday, July 21st. Wall Street Zen upgraded WaFd from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, July 18th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price objective on WaFd from $30.00 to $32.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a research report on Monday, July 21st. Finally, Stephens raised their price objective on WaFd from $32.00 to $33.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Monday, July 21st. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating, Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $32.25.

WaFd 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.