Nuveen LLC Buys New Shares in WaFd, Inc. $WAFD

Key Points

• Nuveen LLC acquired a new position in WaFd, Inc. by purchasing 178,214 shares valued at approximately $5 million during the 1st quarter, which amounts to about 0.22% of the company's total shares.
• WaFd reported $0.73 earnings per share for its last quarter, surpassing analysts' expectations of $0.67, and generated revenue of $186.26 million, exceeding the projected $184.47 million.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.27 per share, with a dividend yield of 3.4%, scheduled for payment on September 5th, indicating a distribution policy with a payout ratio of 41.06%.

Nuveen LLC bought a new position in WaFd, Inc. (NASDAQ:WAFD - Free Report) during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor bought 178,214 shares of the bank's stock, valued at approximately $5,093,000. Nuveen LLC owned about 0.22% of WaFd at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. TD Private Client Wealth LLC boosted its stake in WaFd by 35.2% in the 1st quarter. TD Private Client Wealth LLC now owns 2,002 shares of the bank's stock worth $57,000 after purchasing an additional 521 shares in the last quarter. KBC Group NV raised its holdings in WaFd by 12.7% in the first quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 4,239 shares of the bank's stock worth $121,000 after buying an additional 477 shares during the last quarter. Aquatic Capital Management LLC bought a new position in shares of WaFd in the fourth quarter worth approximately $141,000. Crestline Management LP bought a new position in shares of WaFd in the fourth quarter worth approximately $258,000. Finally, XTX Topco Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of WaFd during the first quarter valued at approximately $263,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.71% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

WaFd Stock Performance

NASDAQ:WAFD traded down $0.10 on Monday, hitting $31.45. The stock had a trading volume of 265,219 shares, compared to its average volume of 396,929. The business's 50-day simple moving average is $30.28 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $29.04. The stock has a market cap of $2.48 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.96 and a beta of 0.93. WaFd, Inc. has a 52-week low of $23.75 and a 52-week high of $38.62. The company has a quick ratio of 0.98, a current ratio of 0.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71.

WaFd (NASDAQ:WAFD - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 17th. The bank reported $0.73 EPS for the quarter, beating 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 firm had revenue of $186.26 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $184.47 million. As a group, research analysts predict that WaFd, Inc. will post 2.56 earnings per share for the current year.

WaFd Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 5th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 22nd will be given a $0.27 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 22nd. This represents a $1.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.4%. WaFd's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 41.06%.

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.