Quest Partners LLC Takes Position in WaFd, Inc (NASDAQ:WAFD)

Quest Partners LLC bought a new stake in WaFd, Inc (NASDAQ:WAFD - Free Report) in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm bought 31,310 shares of the bank's stock, valued at approximately $1,091,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in WAFD. SG Americas Securities LLC bought a new position in WaFd in the 1st quarter worth about $237,000. Sei Investments Co. lifted its holdings in WaFd by 29.1% in the first quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 26,467 shares of the bank's stock valued at $768,000 after acquiring an additional 5,972 shares during the period. Russell Investments Group Ltd. grew its stake in shares of WaFd by 17,472.3% during the 1st quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 8,259 shares of the bank's stock valued at $240,000 after purchasing an additional 8,212 shares during the period. ProShare Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of WaFd by 13.1% during the 1st quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 13,693 shares of the bank's stock valued at $398,000 after purchasing an additional 1,581 shares during the last quarter. Finally, State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System boosted its holdings in shares of WaFd by 62.6% in the first quarter. State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System now owns 30,426 shares of the bank's stock worth $916,000 after buying an additional 11,714 shares during the last quarter. 83.71% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

WaFd Trading Up 1.9 %

Shares of WaFd stock traded up $0.68 on Thursday, reaching $36.60. The company had a trading volume of 37,385 shares, compared to its average volume of 444,926. The firm's 50-day moving average price is $35.27 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $32.55. WaFd, Inc has a 1 year low of $25.78 and a 1 year high of $38.58. The firm has a market cap of $2.97 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.48 and a beta of 0.83. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21, a current ratio of 1.08 and a quick ratio of 1.09.

WaFd (NASDAQ:WAFD - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 17th. The bank reported $0.71 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.70 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $389.98 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $190.43 million. WaFd had a return on equity of 9.44% and a net margin of 13.97%. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.72 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts predict that WaFd, Inc will post 2.82 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

WaFd Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 6th. Investors of record on Friday, November 22nd will be issued a $0.26 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 22nd. This represents a $1.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.84%. WaFd's payout ratio is 41.94%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

Insider Buying and Selling

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

WaFd Company 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.