Nuveen Asset Management LLC Sells 310,798 Shares of WaFd, Inc (NASDAQ:WAFD)

Nuveen Asset Management LLC cut its position in shares of WaFd, Inc (NASDAQ:WAFD - Free Report) by 55.2% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 252,494 shares of the bank's stock after selling 310,798 shares during the period. Nuveen Asset Management LLC owned 0.31% of WaFd worth $8,140,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Rhino Investment Partners Inc increased its holdings in WaFd by 344.3% in the fourth quarter. Rhino Investment Partners Inc now owns 454,343 shares of the bank's stock worth $14,648,000 after buying an additional 352,076 shares during the last quarter. Basswood Capital Management L.L.C. bought a new stake in WaFd in the fourth quarter worth approximately $9,210,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its position in WaFd by 152.9% in the fourth quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 469,704 shares of the bank's stock worth $15,143,000 after acquiring an additional 283,953 shares in the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. increased its stake in shares of WaFd by 15.3% during the 4th quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 1,774,081 shares of the bank's stock worth $57,196,000 after purchasing an additional 234,977 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of WaFd during the 4th quarter valued at $6,539,000. 83.71% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on WAFD. Stephens reiterated an "equal weight" rating and issued a $29.00 price objective on shares of WaFd in a report on Monday, April 14th. Wall Street Zen upgraded WaFd from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, April 12th. DA Davidson lowered WaFd from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and lowered their price objective for the company from $35.00 to $32.00 in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their price objective on WaFd from $32.00 to $30.00 and set a "market perform" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 16th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, According to MarketBeat, WaFd has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $30.50.

WaFd Stock Performance

NASDAQ:WAFD traded down $0.12 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $28.52. 391,468 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 537,134. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.29 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.14 and a beta of 0.85. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $28.08 and a two-hundred day moving average of $30.52. The company has a current ratio of 1.04, a quick ratio of 1.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.05. WaFd, Inc has a 12 month low of $23.75 and a 12 month high of $38.62.

WaFd (NASDAQ:WAFD - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly 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 company had revenue of $179.79 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $184.17 million. WaFd had a return on equity of 8.78% and a net margin of 12.66%. On average, equities analysts forecast that WaFd, Inc will post 2.56 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

WaFd Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 6th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 23rd will be given a $0.27 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 23rd. This represents a $1.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.79%. WaFd's dividend payout ratio is 40.75%.

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.