WaFd, Inc. $WAFD Shares Sold by Rafferty Asset Management LLC

Key Points

• Rafferty Asset Management LLC has reduced its holdings in WaFd, Inc. by 27.1%, owning now 78,252 shares valued at approximately $2.24 million.
• WaFd announced a quarterly dividend of $0.27 per share, which will result in an annualized dividend of $1.08 and a yield of 3.4%.
• WaFd's recent earnings report showed an EPS of $0.73, exceeding the consensus estimate of $0.67, with revenues of $186.26 million compared to expected $184.47 million.

Rafferty Asset Management LLC lowered its position in shares of WaFd, Inc. (NASDAQ:WAFD - Free Report) by 27.1% in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 78,252 shares of the bank's stock after selling 29,072 shares during the period. Rafferty Asset Management LLC owned approximately 0.10% of WaFd worth $2,236,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD lifted its position in WaFd by 10.6% in the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 45,710 shares of the bank's stock valued at $1,474,000 after buying an additional 4,367 shares during the last quarter. Aquatic Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of WaFd during the fourth quarter worth about $141,000. Comerica Bank lifted its position in shares of WaFd by 18.4% during the fourth quarter. Comerica Bank now owns 68,804 shares of the bank's stock worth $2,218,000 after purchasing an additional 10,677 shares in the last quarter. Algert Global LLC acquired a new stake in shares of WaFd during the fourth quarter worth about $448,000. Finally, Basswood Capital Management L.L.C. acquired a new stake in shares of WaFd during the fourth quarter worth about $9,210,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.71% of the company's stock.

WaFd Stock Performance

Shares of WaFd stock traded down $0.04 during trading on Friday, reaching $31.92. The company's stock had a trading volume of 111,302 shares, compared to its average volume of 543,078. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $30.42 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $29.09. The firm has a market cap of $2.51 billion, a PE ratio of 12.13 and a beta of 0.93. WaFd, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $23.75 and a fifty-two week high of $38.62. The company has a current ratio of 0.98, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71.

WaFd (NASDAQ:WAFD - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, July 17th. The bank reported $0.73 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.67 by $0.06. The business had revenue of $186.26 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $184.47 million. WaFd had a net margin of 15.57% and a return on equity of 8.57%. On average, analysts forecast that WaFd, Inc. will post 2.56 EPS for the current year.

WaFd Announces Dividend

The company 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 $0.27 dividend. This represents a $1.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.4%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 22nd. WaFd's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 41.06%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

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.