Raymond James Financial Inc. Makes New $1.77 Million Investment in WaFd, Inc (NASDAQ:WAFD)

Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in WaFd, Inc (NASDAQ:WAFD - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor bought 54,783 shares of the bank's stock, valued at approximately $1,766,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. owned about 0.07% of WaFd at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd increased its position in shares of WaFd by 983.5% during the 4th quarter. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd now owns 1,116 shares of the bank's stock valued at $36,000 after purchasing an additional 1,013 shares during the last quarter. McIlrath & Eck LLC grew its position in WaFd by 112.7% during the third quarter. McIlrath & Eck LLC now owns 1,323 shares of the bank's stock valued at $46,000 after buying an additional 701 shares during the period. Harbour Investments Inc. increased its holdings in WaFd by 29.6% during the fourth quarter. Harbour Investments Inc. now owns 1,752 shares of the bank's stock worth $56,000 after buying an additional 400 shares during the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. increased 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 last quarter. Finally, US Bancorp DE grew its stake in shares of WaFd by 136.7% during the 4th quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 3,638 shares of the bank's stock worth $117,000 after acquiring an additional 2,101 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.71% of the company's stock.

WaFd Trading Up 1.7 %

Shares of NASDAQ:WAFD traded up $0.48 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $29.08. 346,151 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 526,621. The company has a quick ratio of 1.04, a current ratio of 1.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.05. The business's 50 day moving average is $27.88 and its two-hundred day moving average is $31.34. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.37 billion, a PE ratio of 13.40 and a beta of 0.79. WaFd, Inc has a one year low of $23.75 and a one year high of $38.62.

WaFd (NASDAQ:WAFD - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, April 11th. The bank reported $0.65 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.60 by $0.05. The business had revenue of $179.79 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $184.17 million. WaFd had a return on equity of 8.78% and a net margin of 12.66%. As a group, research analysts forecast that WaFd, Inc will post 2.56 earnings per share for the current year.

WaFd Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 7th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 21st were issued a $0.27 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 21st. This is a positive change from WaFd's previous quarterly dividend of $0.26. This represents a $1.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.71%. WaFd's dividend payout ratio is 40.75%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

WAFD has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Stephens reaffirmed an "equal weight" rating and issued a $29.00 price target on shares of WaFd in a report on Monday, April 14th. Piper Sandler reduced their target price on WaFd from $37.00 to $31.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. DA Davidson downgraded shares of WaFd from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and lowered their price target for the stock from $35.00 to $32.00 in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their price objective on shares of WaFd from $32.00 to $30.00 and set a "market perform" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 16th. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of WaFd from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, April 12th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock 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.