Systematic Financial Management LP Boosts Stock Position in WaFd, Inc. $WAFD

Key Points

• Systematic Financial Management LP increased its holdings in WaFd, Inc. by 1.7%, owning a total of 1,531,327 shares after acquiring an additional 24,959 shares in the first quarter.
• The recent analyst ratings for WaFd show a consensus rating of "Hold" with a price target averaging $32.25.
• WaFd announced a quarterly dividend of $0.27, to be paid on September 5th, representing an annualized yield of 3.4%.

Systematic Financial Management LP lifted its holdings in shares of WaFd, Inc. (NASDAQ:WAFD - Free Report) by 1.7% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,531,327 shares of the bank's stock after purchasing an additional 24,959 shares during the quarter. WaFd accounts for approximately 1.2% of Systematic Financial Management LP's portfolio, making the stock its 12th largest position. Systematic Financial Management LP owned about 1.91% of WaFd worth $43,765,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. American Century Companies Inc. raised its holdings in shares of WaFd by 9.8% during the first quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 1,948,534 shares of the bank's stock valued at $55,689,000 after acquiring an additional 174,453 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. lifted its holdings in WaFd by 124.3% in the first quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,107,097 shares of the bank's stock valued at $31,641,000 after acquiring an additional 613,596 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp lifted its holdings in WaFd by 5.1% in the first quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 875,079 shares of the bank's stock valued at $25,010,000 after acquiring an additional 42,653 shares during the period. Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in WaFd by 3.7% in the first quarter. Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC now owns 551,758 shares of the bank's stock valued at $15,769,000 after acquiring an additional 19,865 shares during the period. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its holdings in WaFd by 3.1% in the first quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 461,593 shares of the bank's stock valued at $13,192,000 after acquiring an additional 13,972 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.71% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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

WaFd Price Performance

NASDAQ WAFD traded down $0.64 during trading on Thursday, hitting $31.31. 98,583 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 550,785. The company has a quick ratio of 0.98, a current ratio of 0.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $30.08 and a 200-day simple moving average of $29.03. WaFd, Inc. has a 12-month low of $23.75 and a 12-month high of $38.62. The company has a market capitalization of $2.47 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.89 and a beta of 0.90.

WaFd (NASDAQ:WAFD - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results 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. The business had revenue of $186.26 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $184.47 million. WaFd had a return on equity of 8.57% and a net margin of 15.57%. As a group, analysts predict that WaFd, Inc. will post 2.56 EPS 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 dividend of $0.27 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 22nd. This represents a $1.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.4%. WaFd's dividend 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.