WaFd, Inc (NASDAQ:WAFD) Shares Sold by First Trust Advisors LP

First Trust Advisors LP lessened its holdings in WaFd, Inc (NASDAQ:WAFD - Free Report) by 18.7% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 127,610 shares of the bank's stock after selling 29,354 shares during the period. First Trust Advisors LP owned approximately 0.16% of WaFd worth $4,114,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd lifted its position in WaFd by 983.5% in the fourth quarter. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd now owns 1,116 shares of the bank's stock worth $36,000 after buying an additional 1,013 shares during the last quarter. Harbour Investments Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of WaFd by 29.6% in the 4th quarter. Harbour Investments Inc. now owns 1,752 shares of the bank's stock worth $56,000 after acquiring an additional 400 shares during the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. boosted its stake in shares of WaFd by 68.4% during the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 2,000 shares of the bank's stock worth $70,000 after purchasing an additional 812 shares during the period. US Bancorp DE grew its holdings in WaFd by 136.7% during the 4th quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 3,638 shares of the bank's stock valued at $117,000 after purchasing an additional 2,101 shares during the last quarter. Finally, KBC Group NV raised its position in WaFd by 34.5% in the 4th quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 3,762 shares of the bank's stock worth $121,000 after purchasing an additional 965 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.71% of the company's stock.

WaFd Stock Up 0.3 %

Shares of WAFD stock traded up $0.08 on Thursday, hitting $28.68. The stock had a trading volume of 86,732 shares, compared to its average volume of 525,654. WaFd, Inc has a one year low of $23.75 and a one year high of $38.62. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $27.82 and a 200 day moving average price of $31.21. The company has a market cap of $2.34 billion, a PE ratio of 13.22 and a beta of 0.85. The company has a quick ratio of 1.04, a current ratio of 1.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.05.

WaFd (NASDAQ:WAFD - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, April 11th. The bank reported $0.65 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.60 by $0.05. WaFd had a net margin of 12.66% and a return on equity of 8.78%. The company 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 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

WaFd Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 7th. Investors of record on Friday, February 21st were paid a dividend of $0.27 per share. This represents a $1.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.77%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 21st. This is a positive change from WaFd's previous quarterly dividend of $0.26. WaFd's payout ratio is 40.75%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have recently commented on WAFD shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their target price on WaFd from $32.00 to $30.00 and set a "market perform" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 16th. DA Davidson lowered WaFd from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and reduced their target price for the stock from $35.00 to $32.00 in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Stephens reissued an "equal weight" rating and set a $29.00 target price on shares of WaFd in a research note on Monday, April 14th. StockNews.com raised shares of WaFd from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, April 12th. Finally, Piper Sandler lowered their price objective on shares of WaFd from $37.00 to $31.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, According to data from MarketBeat, WaFd presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $30.50.

WaFd Profile

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.