UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC Has $7.27 Million Stock Position in WaFd, Inc (NASDAQ:WAFD)

UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC raised its position in shares of WaFd, Inc (NASDAQ:WAFD - Free Report) by 42.8% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 225,602 shares of the bank's stock after purchasing an additional 67,640 shares during the quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC owned 0.28% of WaFd worth $7,273,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Rhino Investment Partners Inc raised its position in WaFd by 344.3% during the fourth quarter. Rhino Investment Partners Inc now owns 454,343 shares of the bank's stock valued at $14,648,000 after buying an additional 352,076 shares during the period. Basswood Capital Management L.L.C. purchased a new position in WaFd during the 4th quarter valued at about $9,210,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its holdings in shares of WaFd by 152.9% in the 4th quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 469,704 shares of the bank's stock valued at $15,143,000 after purchasing an additional 283,953 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. lifted its position in shares of WaFd by 15.3% in the fourth quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 1,774,081 shares of the bank's stock worth $57,196,000 after purchasing an additional 234,977 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of WaFd in the fourth quarter worth approximately $6,539,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.71% of the company's stock.

WaFd Stock Up 1.8%

Shares of WAFD stock traded up $0.50 on Tuesday, hitting $28.84. The company's stock had a trading volume of 329,283 shares, compared to its average volume of 536,201. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.31 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.29 and a beta of 0.85. WaFd, Inc has a fifty-two week low of $23.75 and a fifty-two week high of $38.62. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $28.07 and its 200-day moving average price is $30.37. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.05, a current ratio of 1.04 and a quick ratio of 1.04.

WaFd (NASDAQ:WAFD - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, April 11th. The bank reported $0.65 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 business had revenue of $179.79 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $184.17 million. Research analysts anticipate that WaFd, Inc will post 2.56 EPS for the current year.

WaFd Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 6th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 23rd will be given a $0.27 dividend. This represents a $1.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.74%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 23rd. WaFd's dividend payout ratio is 40.75%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

WAFD has been the topic of several research reports. Stephens reiterated an "equal weight" rating and issued a $29.00 price objective on shares of WaFd in a research note on Monday, April 14th. DA Davidson downgraded shares of WaFd from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and dropped their price target for the stock from $35.00 to $32.00 in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Wall Street Zen raised WaFd from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, April 12th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their target price 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. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, According to MarketBeat, WaFd presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price 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.