UBS Group AG Reduces Stake in WaFd, Inc. $WAFD

Key Points

• UBS Group AG cut its WaFd stake by 38.2% in the fourth quarter, selling 125,929 shares and leaving it with 203,547 shares valued at about $6.52 million.
• WaFd reported stronger-than-expected quarterly results, posting EPS of $0.83 versus the $0.74 consensus and revenue of $197.66 million, while analysts now see full-year EPS of 3.27.
• The bank also announced a quarterly dividend of $0.27 per share, payable June 5, which works out to a 3.1% annualized yield and a 35.29% payout ratio.

UBS Group AG reduced its stake in WaFd, Inc. (NASDAQ:WAFD - Free Report) by 38.2% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 203,547 shares of the bank's stock after selling 125,929 shares during the quarter. UBS Group AG owned approximately 0.27% of WaFd worth $6,520,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in WAFD. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. grew its holdings in WaFd by 42.8% in the 2nd quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 1,174 shares of the bank's stock valued at $34,000 after buying an additional 352 shares in the last quarter. McIlrath & Eck LLC grew its holdings in WaFd by 57.6% in the 2nd quarter. McIlrath & Eck LLC now owns 1,327 shares of the bank's stock valued at $39,000 after buying an additional 485 shares in the last quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. grew its holdings in WaFd by 604.5% in the 3rd quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 1,423 shares of the bank's stock valued at $43,000 after buying an additional 1,221 shares in the last quarter. Danske Bank A S purchased a new stake in WaFd in the 3rd quarter valued at $51,000. Finally, EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC grew its holdings in WaFd by 712.4% in the 2nd quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,901 shares of the bank's stock valued at $56,000 after buying an additional 1,667 shares in the last quarter. 83.71% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at WaFd

In other news, EVP Kim E. Robison sold 22,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Friday, April 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $35.28, for a total value of $776,160.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 116,099 shares of the company's stock, valued at $4,095,972.72. This represents a 15.93% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 1.49% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

WaFd Stock Performance

Shares of WaFd stock opened at $34.87 on Wednesday. WaFd, Inc. has a 52 week low of $26.31 and a 52 week high of $38.59. The business's fifty day simple moving average is $33.13 and its 200-day simple moving average is $32.50. The firm has a market cap of $2.58 billion, a PE ratio of 11.40 and a beta of 0.85. The company has a quick ratio of 0.97, a current ratio of 0.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.14.

WaFd (NASDAQ:WAFD - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, April 17th. The bank reported $0.83 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.74 by $0.09. WaFd had a return on equity of 8.94% and a net margin of 18.25%.The business had revenue of $197.66 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $190.51 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.17 EPS. Equities analysts forecast that WaFd, Inc. will post 3.27 earnings per share for the current year.

WaFd Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 5th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 22nd will be paid a $0.27 dividend. This represents a $1.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 22nd. WaFd's dividend payout ratio is 35.29%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have issued reports on the company. Piper Sandler upped their target price on WaFd from $30.50 to $36.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Monday, April 20th. Zacks Research upgraded WaFd from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Monday, April 27th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their target price on WaFd from $35.00 to $38.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a report on Monday, April 20th. Weiss Ratings upgraded WaFd from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a report on Friday, April 17th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada set a $34.00 price target on WaFd in a research note on Tuesday, January 20th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has assigned a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $34.80.

WaFd Profile

Washington Federal, Inc, doing business as WaFd Bank, is a publicly traded bank holding company headquartered in Seattle, Washington. Through its subsidiary, WaFd Bank, the company provides a range of banking and financial services to individuals, small-to-medium enterprises, and commercial clients. Established in 1917 as Ballard Savings & Loan in Seattle, the institution expanded over decades to serve customers across the Western United States under the Washington Federal name and has operated as a public company since the early 1980s.

WaFd Bank's core offerings encompass deposit accounts such as checking, savings, money market, and certificates of deposit, alongside consumer and commercial lending products.

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