WaFd, Inc. $WAFD Shares Sold by Dimensional Fund Advisors LP

Key Points

• Dimensional Fund Advisors reduced its WaFd stake by 0.7% in the first quarter, selling 34,565 shares but retaining approximately 4.95 million shares worth $155.3 million. Institutional investors collectively own 83.71% of WAFD.
• Analysts maintain a generally neutral outlook: WAFD has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $37, though several firms recently raised their targets.
• WaFd reported quarterly EPS of $0.81, slightly below estimates, while revenue of $205.5 million exceeded expectations. The company also maintains a quarterly dividend of $0.27 per share, representing a 2.9% annualized yield.

Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lessened its holdings in shares of WaFd, Inc. (NASDAQ:WAFD - Free Report) by 0.7% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 4,945,524 shares of the bank's stock after selling 34,565 shares during the quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP owned about 6.52% of WaFd worth $155,289,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Assetmark Inc. boosted its stake in shares of WaFd by 3,620.0% in the 1st quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 930 shares of the bank's stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 905 shares during the period. Bessemer Group Inc. raised its stake in WaFd by 37.9% in the first quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 191,044 shares of the bank's stock valued at $5,999,000 after buying an additional 52,500 shares in the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its holdings in WaFd by 34.4% during the 1st quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 504,529 shares of the bank's stock worth $15,842,000 after buying an additional 129,041 shares during the last quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp lifted its holdings in WaFd by 75,681.1% during the 1st quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 71,992 shares of the bank's stock worth $2,261,000 after buying an additional 71,897 shares during the last quarter. Finally, HB Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in shares of WaFd by 8.6% during the 1st quarter. HB Wealth Management LLC now owns 10,158 shares of the bank's stock worth $319,000 after acquiring an additional 801 shares in the last quarter. 83.71% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

WAFD has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. DA Davidson increased their price objective on WaFd from $38.00 to $40.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Monday, July 20th. Zacks Research cut WaFd from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, June 22nd. Piper Sandler upped their price target on WaFd from $30.50 to $36.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Monday, April 20th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price target on shares of WaFd from $35.00 to $38.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a research note on Monday, April 20th. Finally, Weiss Ratings raised shares of WaFd from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "buy (b)" rating in a report on Friday, May 22nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $37.00.

WaFd Stock Performance

NASDAQ WAFD opened at $36.73 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $2.71 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.59 and a beta of 0.83. The company has a quick ratio of 0.97, a current ratio of 0.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.20. The business's 50-day moving average price is $36.79 and its 200 day moving average price is $34.22. WaFd, Inc. has a 52-week low of $26.31 and a 52-week high of $39.49.

WaFd (NASDAQ:WAFD - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 16th. The bank reported $0.81 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.82 by ($0.01). The company had revenue of $205.52 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $199.56 million. WaFd had a return on equity of 8.98% and a net margin of 18.47%. On average, equities research analysts expect that WaFd, Inc. will post 3.21 earnings per share for the current year.

WaFd Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 5th. Investors of record on Friday, May 22nd were issued a dividend of $0.27 per share. This represents a $1.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 22nd. WaFd's dividend payout ratio is currently 34.07%.

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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