Legal & General Group Plc Takes Position in WaFd, Inc. $WAFD

Key Points

• Legal & General Group Plc acquired 171,005 WaFd shares worth approximately $6.56 million, representing about 0.23% of the bank. Institutional investors collectively own 83.71% of WaFd.
• Analyst sentiment is mixed, with one Buy rating and four Holds; the consensus rating is Hold and the average price target is $37.00.
• WaFd reported quarterly EPS of $0.81, slightly below estimates, while revenue exceeded forecasts. The company also declared a quarterly dividend of $0.27 per share, equating to a 3.0% annualized yield.

Legal & General Group Plc purchased a new position in shares of WaFd, Inc. (NASDAQ:WAFD - Free Report) in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm purchased 171,005 shares of the bank's stock, valued at approximately $6,561,000. Legal & General Group Plc owned approximately 0.23% of WaFd at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Assetmark Inc. boosted its stake in WaFd by 3,620.0% during the 1st quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 930 shares of the bank's stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 905 shares during the last quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. raised its stake in shares of WaFd by 42.8% in the 2nd quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 1,174 shares of the bank's stock valued at $34,000 after purchasing an additional 352 shares in the last quarter. McIlrath & Eck LLC lifted its position in shares of WaFd by 57.6% during the second quarter. McIlrath & Eck LLC now owns 1,327 shares of the bank's stock worth $39,000 after purchasing an additional 485 shares during the last quarter. Danske Bank A S acquired a new position in WaFd in the third quarter worth about $51,000. Finally, EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC increased its holdings in WaFd by 712.4% in the second quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,901 shares of the bank's stock valued at $56,000 after buying an additional 1,667 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 83.71% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on WAFD shares. Weiss Ratings reissued a "buy (b)" rating on shares of WaFd in a research report on Wednesday, August 19th. DA Davidson raised their price target on shares of WaFd from $38.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Monday, July 20th. Finally, Zacks Research lowered shares of WaFd from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, June 22nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $37.00.

WaFd Stock Performance

WAFD stock opened at $35.94 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.20, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a current ratio of 0.98. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.66 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.34 and a beta of 0.83. WaFd, Inc. has a 1 year low of $26.31 and a 1 year high of $39.49. The stock's fifty day moving average is $37.30 and its two-hundred day moving average is $35.03.

WaFd (NASDAQ:WAFD - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, July 17th. The bank reported $0.81 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.82 by ($0.01). The firm had revenue of $205.52 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $199.56 million. WaFd had a net margin of 18.47% and a return on equity of 8.98%. On average, research analysts predict that WaFd, Inc. will post 3.23 EPS for the current year.

WaFd Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 4th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 21st will be paid a dividend of $0.27 per share. This represents a $1.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 21st. WaFd's payout ratio is presently 34.07%.

About WaFd

Washington Federal, Inc, doing business as WaFd Bank, is a publicly traded bank holding company headquartered in Seattle, Washington. Through its subsidiary, WaFd Bank, the company provides a range of banking and financial services to individuals, small-to-medium enterprises, and commercial clients. Established in 1917 as Ballard Savings & Loan in Seattle, the institution expanded over decades to serve customers across the Western United States under the Washington Federal name and has operated as a public company since the early 1980s.

WaFd Bank's core offerings encompass deposit accounts such as checking, savings, money market, and certificates of deposit, alongside consumer and commercial lending products.

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