WaFd, Inc. $WAFD Shares Purchased by Victory Capital Management Inc.

Key Points

• Victory Capital Management increased its stake in WaFd by 15.4% during Q3 to 338,608 shares (about 0.43% ownership) worth roughly $10.26 million.
• Analysts hold a consensus "Hold" rating with an average price target of $32.90, with recent research moving price targets between $30.50 (Piper Sandler) and $34.00 (Keefe, Bruyette & Woods / RBC).
• WaFd reported quarterly EPS of $0.75 (missed by $0.01) and revenue of $188.3M versus $193.4M expected, and recently paid a $0.27 quarterly dividend (annualized yield ~3.5%).

Victory Capital Management Inc. raised its position in WaFd, Inc. (NASDAQ:WAFD - Free Report) by 15.4% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 338,608 shares of the bank's stock after purchasing an additional 45,228 shares during the period. Victory Capital Management Inc. owned about 0.43% of WaFd worth $10,256,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Royal Bank of Canada grew its stake in WaFd by 14.5% in the 1st quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 22,011 shares of the bank's stock valued at $629,000 after acquiring an additional 2,783 shares during the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of WaFd by 271.2% in the first quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 30,794 shares of the bank's stock valued at $867,000 after purchasing an additional 22,499 shares during the last quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. increased its stake in shares of WaFd by 26.6% during the 1st quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 48,094 shares of the bank's stock worth $1,375,000 after purchasing an additional 10,092 shares in the last quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC raised its position in shares of WaFd by 9.2% during the 1st quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 246,467 shares of the bank's stock worth $7,044,000 after purchasing an additional 20,865 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Jane Street Group LLC lifted its stake in WaFd by 862.6% in the 1st quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 69,306 shares of the bank's stock valued at $1,981,000 after buying an additional 62,106 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.71% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have weighed in on WAFD. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price target on WaFd from $31.00 to $34.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 20th. Royal Bank Of Canada set a $34.00 price objective on WaFd in a research note on Tuesday, January 20th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of WaFd from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Sunday, February 8th. Piper Sandler lowered their price target on shares of WaFd from $33.50 to $30.50 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 20th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a "hold (c+)" rating on shares of WaFd in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating, According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $32.90.

WaFd Stock Down 0.3%

Shares of NASDAQ:WAFD opened at $30.66 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 0.95, a quick ratio of 0.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89. The firm has a market cap of $2.33 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.61 and a beta of 0.85. The stock's 50-day moving average price is $32.45 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $31.54. WaFd, Inc. has a 12-month low of $23.75 and a 12-month high of $34.29.

WaFd (NASDAQ:WAFD - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 16th. The bank reported $0.75 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.76 by ($0.01). WaFd had a return on equity of 8.67% and a net margin of 17.45%.The company had revenue of $188.32 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $193.36 million. On average, research analysts forecast that WaFd, Inc. will post 2.56 EPS for the current year.

WaFd Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 27th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 13th were paid a dividend of $0.27 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 13th. This represents a $1.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.5%. WaFd's payout ratio is currently 37.37%.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Cathy E. Cooper sold 5,300 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Friday, February 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $33.77, for a total transaction of $178,981.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 94,755 shares in the company, valued at $3,199,876.35. This represents a 5.30% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 1.49% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

WaFd Profile

Washington Federal, Inc, doing business as WaFd Bank, is a publicly traded bank holding company headquartered in Seattle, Washington. Through its subsidiary, WaFd Bank, the company provides a range of banking and financial services to individuals, small-to-medium enterprises, and commercial clients. Established in 1917 as Ballard Savings & Loan in Seattle, the institution expanded over decades to serve customers across the Western United States under the Washington Federal name and has operated as a public company since the early 1980s.

WaFd Bank's core offerings encompass deposit accounts such as checking, savings, money market, and certificates of deposit, alongside consumer and commercial lending products.

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