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

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

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of WAFD. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd increased its stake in 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 in the last quarter. McIlrath & Eck LLC increased its position in shares of WaFd by 112.7% during the third quarter. McIlrath & Eck LLC now owns 1,323 shares of the bank's stock worth $46,000 after acquiring an additional 701 shares in the last quarter. Harbour Investments Inc. raised 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. lifted its position in WaFd by 68.4% in the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 2,000 shares of the bank's stock valued at $70,000 after acquiring an additional 812 shares in the last quarter. Finally, US Bancorp DE increased its holdings in 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 purchasing an additional 2,101 shares in the last quarter. 83.71% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

WaFd Stock Performance

Shares of WAFD traded up $0.23 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $28.62. The company's stock had a trading volume of 464,874 shares, compared to its average volume of 527,375. The company has a market cap of $2.33 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.19 and a beta of 0.85. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.05, a current ratio of 1.04 and a quick ratio of 1.04. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $27.82 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $31.21. WaFd, Inc has a 52-week low of $23.75 and a 52-week high of $38.62.

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

WaFd Increases Dividend

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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