Public Sector Pension Investment Board Increases Stake in WaFd, Inc (NASDAQ:WAFD)

Public Sector Pension Investment Board raised its position in shares of WaFd, Inc (NASDAQ:WAFD - Free Report) by 15.9% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 172,284 shares of the bank's stock after acquiring an additional 23,600 shares during the period. Public Sector Pension Investment Board owned approximately 0.21% of WaFd worth $6,004,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Blue Trust Inc. grew its position in WaFd by 80.8% in the third quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,188 shares of the bank's stock worth $41,000 after acquiring an additional 531 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its holdings in shares of WaFd by 515.8% in the 3rd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,558 shares of the bank's stock worth $54,000 after purchasing an additional 1,305 shares during the period. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. increased its position in shares of WaFd by 100.0% during the 2nd quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 1,644 shares of the bank's stock valued at $47,000 after purchasing an additional 822 shares during the last quarter. Covestor Ltd lifted its position in WaFd by 60.1% in the third quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 1,904 shares of the bank's stock worth $66,000 after buying an additional 715 shares during the last quarter. Finally, KBC Group NV boosted its stake in WaFd by 35.1% during the third quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 2,797 shares of the bank's stock worth $97,000 after buying an additional 726 shares during the period. 83.71% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other WaFd news, EVP Ryan Mauer sold 12,132 shares of WaFd stock in a transaction on Monday, November 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $33.33, for a total value of $404,359.56. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 100,376 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,345,532.08. The trade was a 10.78 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 2.25% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

WaFd Stock Down 1.4 %

Shares of WAFD traded down $0.53 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $36.58. The company's stock had a trading volume of 242,130 shares, compared to its average volume of 410,404. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.98 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.75 and a beta of 0.83. The company's 50-day moving average is $35.44 and its 200-day moving average is $32.95. The company has a current ratio of 1.08, a quick ratio of 1.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21. WaFd, Inc has a 52-week low of $25.78 and a 52-week high of $38.62.

WaFd (NASDAQ:WAFD - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, October 17th. The bank reported $0.71 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.70 by $0.01. WaFd had a return on equity of 9.44% and a net margin of 13.97%. The company had revenue of $389.98 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $190.43 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.72 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts forecast that WaFd, Inc will post 2.82 EPS for the current fiscal year.

WaFd Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 6th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 22nd will be paid a $0.26 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 22nd. This represents a $1.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.84%. WaFd's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 41.94%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

WAFD has been the subject of several analyst reports. DA Davidson raised their target price on shares of WaFd from $39.00 to $41.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, October 21st. StockNews.com upgraded WaFd from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 12th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reiterated a "market perform" rating and issued a $40.00 price target on shares of WaFd in a report on Monday, October 21st. Finally, Piper Sandler dropped their price objective on WaFd from $36.00 to $35.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Monday, October 21st. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $38.00.

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.