American Century Companies Inc. Has $55.69 Million Holdings in WaFd, Inc. $WAFD

Key Points

• American Century Companies Inc. increased its holdings in WaFd, Inc. by 9.8%, acquiring approximately 1.95 million shares valued at $55.69 million.
• WaFd reported $0.73 earnings per share (EPS) for the last quarter, exceeding expectations, while also declaring a quarterly dividend of $0.27 per share, yielding 3.5%.
• Several analysts have raised their price targets for WaFd, with a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $32.25.

American Century Companies Inc. lifted its stake in shares of WaFd, Inc. (NASDAQ:WAFD - Free Report) by 9.8% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 1,948,534 shares of the bank's stock after acquiring an additional 174,453 shares during the quarter. American Century Companies Inc. owned about 2.43% of WaFd worth $55,689,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd lifted its holdings in WaFd by 232.4% in the 1st quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd now owns 1,978 shares of the bank's stock worth $57,000 after purchasing an additional 1,383 shares during the last quarter. TD Private Client Wealth LLC raised its position in shares of WaFd by 35.2% in the first quarter. TD Private Client Wealth LLC now owns 2,002 shares of the bank's stock valued at $57,000 after purchasing an additional 521 shares during the period. KBC Group NV raised its position in shares of WaFd by 12.7% in the first quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 4,239 shares of the bank's stock valued at $121,000 after purchasing an additional 477 shares during the period. Aquatic Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of WaFd in the fourth quarter worth $141,000. Finally, Summit Investment Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of WaFd by 6.9% during the 4th quarter. Summit Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 6,987 shares of the bank's stock worth $225,000 after buying an additional 450 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.71% of the company's stock.

WaFd Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:WAFD traded down $0.37 during trading on Monday, hitting $31.36. 325,463 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 459,314. The company has a market capitalization of $2.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.92 and a beta of 0.90. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a current ratio of 0.98. WaFd, Inc. has a 1-year low of $23.75 and a 1-year high of $38.62. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $29.92 and its 200-day simple moving average is $28.99.

WaFd (NASDAQ:WAFD - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, July 17th. The bank reported $0.73 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.67 by $0.06. The firm had revenue of $186.26 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $184.47 million. WaFd had a return on equity of 8.57% and a net margin of 15.57%. Sell-side analysts expect 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, September 5th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 22nd will be given a dividend of $0.27 per share. This represents a $1.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.4%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 22nd. WaFd's payout ratio is 41.06%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts recently commented on WAFD shares. Piper Sandler lifted their target price on shares of WaFd from $30.00 to $31.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Monday, July 21st. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price target on WaFd from $30.00 to $32.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a research report on Monday, July 21st. Stephens boosted their price objective on WaFd from $32.00 to $33.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Monday, July 21st. Wall Street Zen upgraded WaFd from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, July 18th. Finally, DA Davidson raised their target price on WaFd from $29.00 to $33.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Monday, July 21st. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating, According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $32.25.

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.