JPMorgan Chase & Co. Boosts Stake in WaFd, Inc (NASDAQ:WAFD)

JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its stake in WaFd, Inc (NASDAQ:WAFD - Free Report) by 152.9% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 469,704 shares of the bank's stock after purchasing an additional 283,953 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. owned approximately 0.58% of WaFd worth $15,143,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in WAFD. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in WaFd by 1.8% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 9,420,004 shares of the bank's stock valued at $303,701,000 after buying an additional 166,931 shares during the period. State Street Corp lifted its holdings in shares of WaFd by 5.2% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 3,969,790 shares of the bank's stock worth $138,347,000 after acquiring an additional 195,845 shares during the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. increased its holdings in WaFd by 15.3% in the 4th quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 1,774,081 shares of the bank's stock valued at $57,196,000 after purchasing an additional 234,977 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in WaFd by 10.0% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,759,135 shares of the bank's stock valued at $61,318,000 after purchasing an additional 159,750 shares during the period. Finally, William Blair Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in WaFd by 2.5% during the fourth quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC now owns 929,760 shares of the bank's stock worth $29,975,000 after purchasing an additional 22,716 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.71% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

WaFd Stock Up 0.3 %

Shares of WaFd stock traded up $0.07 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $27.59. The company had a trading volume of 82,381 shares, compared to its average volume of 617,542. The company's 50-day moving average is $28.22 and its two-hundred day moving average is $31.89. WaFd, Inc has a twelve month low of $23.75 and a twelve month high of $38.62. 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 company has a market cap of $2.25 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.73 and a beta of 0.79.

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, 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 company had revenue of $179.79 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $184.17 million. 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. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 21st were issued a $0.27 dividend. This is an increase from WaFd's previous quarterly dividend of $0.26. This represents a $1.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.91%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 21st. WaFd's dividend payout ratio is presently 40.75%.

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.