Victory Capital Management Inc. Increases Stock Holdings in WaFd, Inc. (NASDAQ:WAFD)

Key Points

• Victory Capital Management Inc. increased its stake in WaFd, Inc. by 46.9%, acquiring an additional 87,235 shares, bringing its total to 273,094 shares valued at approximately $7.8 million.
• Analysts have recently upgraded WaFd's stock rating from "sell" to "hold," with multiple firms increasing their price targets, now averaging around $32.25.
• WaFd reported a quarterly earnings per share of $0.73, exceeding analysts' expectations of $0.67, alongside a dividend yield of 3.63% based on a recent quarterly dividend of $0.27.

Victory Capital Management Inc. increased its stake in WaFd, Inc. (NASDAQ:WAFD - Free Report) by 46.9% in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 273,094 shares of the bank's stock after purchasing an additional 87,235 shares during the period. Victory Capital Management Inc. owned 0.33% of WaFd worth $7,805,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd boosted its stake in WaFd by 983.5% in the 4th quarter. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd now owns 1,116 shares of the bank's stock worth $36,000 after purchasing an additional 1,013 shares in the last quarter. TD Private Client Wealth LLC boosted its stake in WaFd by 35.2% in the 1st quarter. TD Private Client Wealth LLC now owns 2,002 shares of the bank's stock worth $57,000 after purchasing an additional 521 shares in the last quarter. KBC Group NV boosted its holdings in shares of WaFd by 12.7% in the 1st quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 4,239 shares of the bank's stock valued at $121,000 after acquiring an additional 477 shares during the last quarter. Aquatic Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of WaFd in the fourth quarter worth $141,000. Finally, Summit Investment Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in shares of WaFd by 6.9% during the fourth quarter. Summit Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 6,987 shares of the bank's stock worth $225,000 after purchasing an additional 450 shares during the last quarter. 83.71% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have commented on WAFD shares. DA Davidson upped their price target on shares of WaFd from $29.00 to $33.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Monday, July 21st. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their target price on WaFd from $30.00 to $32.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a report on Monday, July 21st. Stephens boosted their price target on WaFd from $32.00 to $33.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report 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, Piper Sandler boosted 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. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $32.25.

WaFd Price Performance

NASDAQ:WAFD traded up $0.21 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $29.74. 483,372 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 545,266. The company has a current ratio of 0.98, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71. The stock's 50-day moving average is $29.35 and its 200-day moving average is $29.04. The firm has a market cap of $2.38 billion, a PE ratio of 11.01 and a beta of 0.84. WaFd, Inc. has a twelve month low of $23.75 and a twelve month high of $38.62.

WaFd (NASDAQ:WAFD - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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 company had revenue of $186.26 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $184.47 million. WaFd had a net margin of 15.57% and a return on equity of 8.57%. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that WaFd, Inc. will post 2.56 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

WaFd Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 6th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 23rd were given a $0.27 dividend. This represents a $1.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.63%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 23rd. WaFd's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 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.