Hennessy Advisors Inc. Buys 10,000 Shares of WaFd, Inc. (NASDAQ:WAFD)

Hennessy Advisors Inc. raised its position in shares of WaFd, Inc. (NASDAQ:WAFD - Free Report) by 10.5% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 105,000 shares of the bank's stock after acquiring an additional 10,000 shares during the period. Hennessy Advisors Inc. owned approximately 0.13% of WaFd worth $3,001,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Congress Asset Management Co. grew its stake in shares of WaFd by 7.5% in the fourth quarter. Congress Asset Management Co. now owns 227,039 shares of the bank's stock valued at $7,320,000 after acquiring an additional 15,938 shares in the last quarter. Principal Securities Inc. boosted its holdings in WaFd by 10.3% in the 4th quarter. Principal Securities Inc. now owns 7,633 shares of the bank's stock valued at $246,000 after purchasing an additional 712 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its position in shares of WaFd by 4.5% during the 4th quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 447,621 shares of the bank's stock worth $14,431,000 after purchasing an additional 19,117 shares in the last quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc grew its position in shares of WaFd by 4.8% during the 4th quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 7,424 shares of the bank's stock worth $239,000 after purchasing an additional 338 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Davidson Investment Advisors increased its holdings in shares of WaFd by 1.8% during the fourth quarter. Davidson Investment Advisors now owns 295,524 shares of the bank's stock worth $9,528,000 after purchasing an additional 5,198 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.71% of the company's stock.

WaFd Price Performance

Shares of WAFD traded up $0.21 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $27.84. The stock had a trading volume of 191,243 shares, compared to its average volume of 539,104. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.01, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a current ratio of 1.02. WaFd, Inc. has a 12 month low of $23.75 and a 12 month high of $38.62. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.23 billion, a PE ratio of 10.50 and a beta of 0.85. The company's 50-day moving average is $28.45 and its two-hundred day moving average is $29.80.

WaFd (NASDAQ:WAFD - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Friday, April 11th. The bank reported $0.65 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.60 by $0.05. WaFd had a return on equity of 8.74% and a net margin of 15.13%. The firm had revenue of $179.79 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $184.17 million. Research analysts expect that WaFd, Inc. will post 2.56 EPS for the current year.

WaFd Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed 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 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.88%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 23rd. WaFd's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 40.75%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have commented on the company. Wall Street Zen upgraded WaFd from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, April 12th. 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 report on Wednesday, April 16th. Finally, Stephens reaffirmed an "equal weight" rating and set a $29.00 price objective on shares of WaFd in a research report on Monday, April 14th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, According to MarketBeat.com, WaFd has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $30.50.

About WaFd

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.