Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH Buys Shares of 67,100 WaFd, Inc (NASDAQ:WAFD)

Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH purchased a new stake in shares of WaFd, Inc (NASDAQ:WAFD - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 67,100 shares of the bank's stock, valued at approximately $2,163,000. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH owned approximately 0.08% of WaFd at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of WAFD. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd increased its holdings in WaFd by 983.5% during the 4th quarter. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd now owns 1,116 shares of the bank's stock valued at $36,000 after purchasing an additional 1,013 shares in the last quarter. Harbour Investments Inc. increased its stake in shares of WaFd by 29.6% in the 4th quarter. Harbour Investments Inc. now owns 1,752 shares of the bank's stock valued at $56,000 after buying an additional 400 shares during the period. Blue Trust Inc. increased its stake in shares of WaFd by 68.4% in the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 2,000 shares of the bank's stock valued at $70,000 after buying an additional 812 shares during the period. US Bancorp DE increased its stake in shares of WaFd by 136.7% in the 4th quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 3,638 shares of the bank's stock valued at $117,000 after buying an additional 2,101 shares during the period. Finally, KBC Group NV increased its stake in shares of WaFd by 34.5% in the 4th quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 3,762 shares of the bank's stock valued at $121,000 after buying an additional 965 shares during the period. 83.71% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

WaFd Trading Up 2.4%

Shares of WaFd stock traded up $0.67 during trading on Friday, reaching $29.08. 379,627 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 538,417. The company has a quick ratio of 1.04, a current ratio of 1.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.05. WaFd, Inc has a twelve month low of $23.75 and a twelve month high of $38.62. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $28.09 and a 200-day moving average price of $30.25. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.33 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.40 and a beta of 0.85.

WaFd (NASDAQ:WAFD - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Friday, April 11th. The bank reported $0.65 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.60 by $0.05. WaFd had a return on equity of 8.78% and a net margin of 12.66%. The firm had revenue of $179.79 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $184.17 million. Sell-side analysts anticipate that WaFd, Inc will post 2.56 EPS for the current fiscal year.

WaFd Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 6th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 23rd will be paid a $0.27 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 23rd. This represents a $1.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.71%. WaFd's payout ratio is 40.75%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have recently commented on WAFD. Wall Street Zen raised WaFd from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, April 12th. DA Davidson cut WaFd from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and lowered their target price for the company from $35.00 to $32.00 in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their target price on WaFd from $32.00 to $30.00 and set a "market perform" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 16th. Finally, Stephens reissued an "equal weight" rating and issued a $29.00 target price on shares of WaFd in a research note on Monday, April 14th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, Based on data from MarketBeat.com, WaFd presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $30.50.

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.