MetLife Investment Management LLC Raises Position in WaFd, Inc. $WAFD

Key Points

• MetLife Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in WaFd, Inc. by 1,576.8%, acquiring an additional 642,270 shares during the first quarter, valuing its total ownership at $19.52 million.
• WaFd's stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" from multiple analysts, with price targets ranging from $31.00 to $33.00.
• The company recently announced a quarterly dividend of $0.27 per share, representing an annualized yield of 3.4% with a payout ratio of 41.06%.

MetLife Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of WaFd, Inc. (NASDAQ:WAFD - Free Report) by 1,576.8% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 683,003 shares of the bank's stock after buying an additional 642,270 shares during the quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC owned 0.85% of WaFd worth $19,520,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Systematic Financial Management LP lifted its holdings in WaFd by 1.7% during the 1st quarter. Systematic Financial Management LP now owns 1,531,327 shares of the bank's stock worth $43,765,000 after buying an additional 24,959 shares in the last quarter. Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in WaFd by 3.7% during the 1st quarter. Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC now owns 551,758 shares of the bank's stock worth $15,769,000 after buying an additional 19,865 shares in the last quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC lifted its holdings in WaFd by 20.7% during the 1st quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 9,377 shares of the bank's stock worth $268,000 after buying an additional 1,608 shares in the last quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP acquired a new stake in WaFd during the 1st quarter worth approximately $1,005,000. Finally, Northern Trust Corp lifted its holdings in WaFd by 5.1% during the 1st quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 875,079 shares of the bank's stock worth $25,010,000 after buying an additional 42,653 shares in the last quarter. 83.71% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

WaFd Stock Down 0.3%

Shares of NASDAQ WAFD traded down $0.10 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $31.45. The company had a trading volume of 265,219 shares, compared to its average volume of 425,584. The company has a current ratio of 0.98, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $30.22 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $29.04. The stock has a market cap of $2.48 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.96 and a beta of 0.90. 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 issued 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. WaFd had a net margin of 15.57% and a return on equity of 8.57%. The company had revenue of $186.26 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $184.47 million. Sell-side analysts predict that WaFd, Inc. will post 2.56 earnings per share for the current year.

WaFd Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 5th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 22nd will be given a dividend of $0.27 per share. This represents a $1.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 22nd. WaFd's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 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.