Vest Financial LLC Invests $708,000 in WaFd, Inc (NASDAQ:WAFD)

Vest Financial LLC bought a new stake in WaFd, Inc (NASDAQ:WAFD - Free Report) during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor bought 24,781 shares of the bank's stock, valued at approximately $708,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in WAFD. Talbot Financial LLC boosted its stake in WaFd by 4.4% in the first quarter. Talbot Financial LLC now owns 77,586 shares of the bank's stock worth $2,217,000 after buying an additional 3,288 shares in the last quarter. Rhumbline Advisers boosted its stake in shares of WaFd by 2.6% in the 1st quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 236,909 shares of the bank's stock valued at $6,771,000 after purchasing an additional 6,068 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its stake in shares of WaFd by 2,337.2% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 40,555 shares of the bank's stock valued at $1,159,000 after purchasing an additional 38,891 shares in the last quarter. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH bought a new position in shares of WaFd during the 4th quarter valued at $2,163,000. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC raised its position in WaFd by 42.8% in the 4th quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 225,602 shares of the bank's stock worth $7,273,000 after purchasing an additional 67,640 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 83.71% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have commented on the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their price target on WaFd from $32.00 to $30.00 and set a "market perform" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 16th. Stephens reaffirmed an "equal weight" rating and issued a $29.00 target price on shares of WaFd in a research note on Monday, April 14th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of WaFd from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, April 12th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, According to MarketBeat, WaFd currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $30.50.

WaFd Stock Performance

Shares of WaFd stock opened at $29.08 on Monday. The company has a current ratio of 1.04, a quick ratio of 1.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.05. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.33 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.40 and a beta of 0.85. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $28.09 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $30.17. WaFd, Inc has a 12 month low of $23.75 and a 12 month high of $38.62.

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

WaFd Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 6th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 23rd were issued a $0.27 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 23rd. This represents a $1.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.71%. WaFd's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 40.75%.

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.

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