Rhino Investment Partners Inc Has $5.36 Million Stake in WaFd, Inc. $WAFD

Key Points

• Rhino Investment Partners Inc reduced its stake in WaFd, Inc. by 58.7%, selling 266,805 shares during the first quarter, leaving them with 187,538 shares.
• Multiple analysts have raised their price targets for WaFd, with Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increasing their target from $30.00 to $32.00, indicating a generally positive outlook for the stock.
• WaFd recently declared a quarterly dividend of $0.27 per share, with a yield of 3.5%, reflecting a solid dividend payout ratio of 41.06%.

Rhino Investment Partners Inc decreased its holdings in WaFd, Inc. (NASDAQ:WAFD - Free Report) by 58.7% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 187,538 shares of the bank's stock after selling 266,805 shares during the quarter. WaFd accounts for about 1.3% of Rhino Investment Partners Inc's investment portfolio, making the stock its 23rd largest position. Rhino Investment Partners Inc owned approximately 0.23% of WaFd worth $5,360,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. grew its position in WaFd by 1.2% during the 4th quarter. Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. now owns 3,696,480 shares of the bank's stock worth $119,175,000 after purchasing an additional 42,096 shares in the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. boosted its stake 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 buying an additional 174,453 shares during the period. Systematic Financial Management LP boosted its stake in shares of WaFd by 5.2% during the 4th quarter. Systematic Financial Management LP now owns 1,506,368 shares of the bank's stock valued at $48,565,000 after buying an additional 73,845 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. boosted its stake in shares of WaFd by 124.3% during the 1st quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,107,097 shares of the bank's stock valued at $31,641,000 after buying an additional 613,596 shares during the period. Finally, Northern Trust Corp boosted its stake in shares of WaFd by 5.1% during the 1st quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 875,079 shares of the bank's stock valued at $25,010,000 after buying an additional 42,653 shares during the period. 83.71% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

WaFd Stock Up 1.2%

Shares of WAFD stock traded up $0.38 on Tuesday, hitting $31.74. The company's stock had a trading volume of 62,246 shares, compared to its average volume of 552,432. 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 fifty-two week low of $23.75 and a fifty-two week high of $38.62. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $29.92 and its 200-day moving average price is $28.99. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.50 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.05 and a beta of 0.90.

WaFd (NASDAQ:WAFD - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, July 17th. The bank reported $0.73 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.67 by $0.06. The firm had revenue of $186.26 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $184.47 million. WaFd had a net margin of 15.57% and a return on equity of 8.57%. Research analysts anticipate that WaFd, Inc. will post 2.56 EPS for the current year.

WaFd Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 22nd. This represents a $1.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.4%. WaFd's payout ratio is currently 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.