Northern Trust Corp Purchases 42,653 Shares of WaFd, Inc. $WAFD

Key Points

• Northern Trust Corp increased its stake in WaFd, Inc. by 5.1%, holding 875,079 shares valued at approximately $25.01 million as of the latest SEC filing.
• Several institutional investors, including Invesco Ltd. and American Century Companies Inc., have also significantly increased their positions in WaFd during the first quarter.
• WaFd recently announced a quarterly dividend of $0.27 per share, which will be paid on September 5th, representing an annual yield of 3.4% and a payout ratio of 41.06%.

Northern Trust Corp boosted its position in WaFd, Inc. (NASDAQ:WAFD - Free Report) by 5.1% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 875,079 shares of the bank's stock after acquiring an additional 42,653 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp owned 1.09% of WaFd worth $25,010,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Invesco Ltd. boosted its holdings in WaFd by 124.3% during the first quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,107,097 shares of the bank's stock worth $31,641,000 after buying an additional 613,596 shares during the last quarter. Basswood Capital Management L.L.C. bought a new position in shares of WaFd during the 4th quarter valued at about $9,210,000. Nuveen LLC bought a new position in shares of WaFd during the 1st quarter valued at about $5,093,000. American Century Companies Inc. lifted its holdings 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. lifted its holdings 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 own 83.71% of the company's stock.

WaFd Price Performance

Shares of WAFD stock traded up $0.19 on Thursday, hitting $31.60. 73,709 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 544,433. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71, a current ratio of 0.98 and a quick ratio of 0.98. WaFd, Inc. has a 12 month low of $23.75 and a 12 month high of $38.62. The stock has a market cap of $2.49 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.02 and a beta of 0.93. The company has a 50 day moving average of $30.37 and a 200 day moving average of $29.08.

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

WaFd Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 5th. Investors 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 dividend yield of 3.4%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 22nd. WaFd's dividend payout ratio is currently 41.06%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have recently weighed in on WAFD. Stephens lifted their price objective on WaFd from $32.00 to $33.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Monday, July 21st. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their target price on WaFd from $30.00 to $32.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a research note on Monday, July 21st. DA Davidson boosted their target price on WaFd from $29.00 to $33.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Monday, July 21st. Wall Street Zen upgraded WaFd from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, July 18th. Finally, Piper Sandler upped their price objective on WaFd from $30.00 to $31.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Monday, July 21st. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating, According to MarketBeat, WaFd has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $32.25.

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.