Norges Bank Takes Position in WaFd, Inc (NASDAQ:WAFD)

Norges Bank bought a new stake in WaFd, Inc (NASDAQ:WAFD - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm bought 202,820 shares of the bank's stock, valued at approximately $6,539,000. Norges Bank owned approximately 0.25% of WaFd at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in WAFD. McIlrath & Eck LLC raised its position in shares of WaFd by 112.7% in 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 last quarter. Harbour Investments Inc. grew its position in shares of WaFd by 29.6% in the fourth quarter. Harbour Investments Inc. now owns 1,752 shares of the bank's stock valued at $56,000 after purchasing an additional 400 shares in the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. increased its holdings in shares of WaFd by 68.4% in the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 2,000 shares of the bank's stock valued at $70,000 after purchasing an additional 812 shares during the last quarter. US Bancorp DE boosted its stake in WaFd by 136.7% during the fourth quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 3,638 shares of the bank's stock worth $117,000 after buying an additional 2,101 shares during the last quarter. Finally, KBC Group NV grew its holdings in WaFd by 34.5% in the 4th quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 3,762 shares of the bank's stock valued at $121,000 after buying an additional 965 shares in the last quarter. 83.71% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

WaFd Stock Up 6.0 %

Shares of NASDAQ:WAFD traded up $1.46 on Monday, hitting $26.00. 68,754 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 603,954. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.05, a quick ratio of 1.04 and a current ratio of 1.04. WaFd, Inc has a 1-year low of $23.75 and a 1-year high of $38.62. The company has a market capitalization of $2.12 billion, a PE ratio of 11.98 and a beta of 0.79. The firm's 50-day moving average is $28.42 and its 200 day moving average is $32.01.

WaFd (NASDAQ:WAFD - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, April 11th. The bank reported $0.65 earnings per share 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 firm had revenue of $179.79 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $184.17 million. Sell-side analysts predict that WaFd, Inc will post 2.56 EPS for the current year.

WaFd Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 7th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 21st were issued a $0.27 dividend. This represents a $1.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.15%. This is a boost from WaFd's previous quarterly dividend of $0.26. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 21st. WaFd's payout ratio is presently 49.77%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their price target on shares of WaFd from $42.00 to $34.00 and set a "market perform" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. StockNews.com raised WaFd from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday. DA Davidson downgraded WaFd from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and cut their price objective for the stock from $35.00 to $32.00 in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Piper Sandler lowered their target price on shares of WaFd from $37.00 to $31.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. Finally, Stephens reissued an "equal weight" rating and issued a $29.00 price target on shares of WaFd in a research note on Monday. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $31.50.

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.