Barclays PLC Has $5.52 Million Stock Position in WaFd, Inc (NASDAQ:WAFD)

Barclays PLC boosted its holdings in WaFd, Inc (NASDAQ:WAFD - Free Report) by 5.7% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 171,258 shares of the bank's stock after acquiring an additional 9,300 shares during the quarter. Barclays PLC owned 0.21% of WaFd worth $5,520,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in WAFD. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd grew its stake in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 1,013 shares in the last quarter. McIlrath & Eck LLC grew its position in WaFd by 112.7% in the 3rd quarter. McIlrath & Eck LLC now owns 1,323 shares of the bank's stock valued at $46,000 after buying an additional 701 shares in the last quarter. Harbour Investments Inc. increased its stake in WaFd by 29.6% during the 4th quarter. Harbour Investments Inc. now owns 1,752 shares of the bank's stock valued at $56,000 after buying an additional 400 shares during the period. Blue Trust Inc. raised its position 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 buying an additional 812 shares in the last quarter. Finally, US Bancorp DE lifted its stake in shares of WaFd by 136.7% in 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. Institutional investors own 83.71% of the company's stock.

WaFd Trading Up 1.7 %

Shares of WaFd stock traded up $0.49 on Tuesday, reaching $28.73. 764,797 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 523,359. WaFd, Inc has a fifty-two week low of $23.75 and a fifty-two week high of $38.62. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.34 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.24 and a beta of 0.79. The company has a current ratio of 1.04, a quick ratio of 1.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.05. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $27.95 and a 200-day moving average price of $31.51.

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

WaFd Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 7th. Investors of record on Friday, February 21st were given a $0.27 dividend. This represents a $1.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.76%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 21st. This is an increase from WaFd's previous quarterly dividend of $0.26. WaFd's dividend payout ratio is 40.75%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently commented on the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their target price on WaFd from $32.00 to $30.00 and set a "market perform" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 16th. Piper Sandler dropped their price objective 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 reaffirmed 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 upgraded shares of WaFd from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, April 12th. Finally, DA Davidson cut shares of WaFd from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and lowered their price objective for the stock from $35.00 to $32.00 in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target 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.