Renaissance Technologies LLC Raises Holdings in WaFd, Inc (NASDAQ:WAFD)

Renaissance Technologies LLC boosted its holdings in shares of WaFd, Inc (NASDAQ:WAFD - Free Report) by 427.2% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 73,429 shares of the bank's stock after acquiring an additional 59,500 shares during the quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC owned about 0.09% of WaFd worth $2,367,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its stake in WaFd by 152.9% during the fourth quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 469,704 shares of the bank's stock worth $15,143,000 after purchasing an additional 283,953 shares in the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. lifted its stake in WaFd by 15.3% during the 4th quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 1,774,081 shares of the bank's stock worth $57,196,000 after acquiring an additional 234,977 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new position in WaFd during the 4th quarter worth about $6,539,000. Invesco Ltd. boosted its holdings in WaFd by 63.6% during the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 493,501 shares of the bank's stock valued at $15,910,000 after acquiring an additional 191,855 shares during the period. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position 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 acquiring an additional 166,931 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.71% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have recently commented on the stock. DA Davidson lowered shares of WaFd from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and lowered their price objective for the company from $35.00 to $32.00 in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Piper Sandler decreased their price target on shares of WaFd from $37.00 to $31.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. StockNews.com raised WaFd from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, April 12th. Stephens reiterated an "equal weight" rating and issued a $29.00 target price on shares of WaFd in a report on Monday, April 14th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their target price on WaFd from $32.00 to $30.00 and set a "market perform" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 16th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, Based on data from MarketBeat.com, WaFd presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $30.50.

WaFd Stock Up 1.7 %

Shares of NASDAQ:WAFD traded up $0.49 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $28.73. The stock had a trading volume of 764,797 shares, compared to its average volume of 523,359. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.34 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.24 and a beta of 0.79. The firm's 50 day moving average is $27.95 and its 200-day moving average is $31.51. WaFd, Inc has a 1 year low of $23.75 and a 1 year high of $38.62. 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 (NASDAQ:WAFD - Get Free Report) last posted 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 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 analysts' expectations of $184.17 million. Research analysts predict that WaFd, Inc will post 2.56 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

WaFd Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 7th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 21st were paid a $0.27 dividend. This is a positive change from WaFd's previous quarterly dividend of $0.26. This represents a $1.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.76%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 21st. WaFd's dividend payout ratio is currently 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.