Principal Financial Group Inc. Boosts Stake in WaFd, Inc (NASDAQ:WAFD)

Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of WaFd, Inc (NASDAQ:WAFD - Free Report) by 28.6% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 428,504 shares of the bank's stock after purchasing an additional 95,251 shares during the quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned 0.53% of WaFd worth $14,933,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. BNP Paribas Financial Markets increased its stake in WaFd by 94.4% in the 1st quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 34,046 shares of the bank's stock worth $988,000 after acquiring an additional 16,534 shares during the last quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. bought a new position in shares of WaFd in the 1st quarter worth $331,000. SG Americas Securities LLC purchased a new stake in shares of WaFd during the 1st quarter valued at $237,000. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. bought a new stake in shares of WaFd during the 1st quarter worth $268,000. Finally, Swiss National Bank grew its position in WaFd by 7.9% in the first quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 137,626 shares of the bank's stock worth $3,995,000 after acquiring an additional 10,126 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 83.71% of the company's stock.

WaFd Trading Down 0.0 %

WAFD traded down $0.01 on Friday, hitting $36.96. 307,164 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 480,778. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21, a quick ratio of 1.09 and a current ratio of 1.08. WaFd, Inc has a 12 month low of $25.78 and a 12 month high of $38.58. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $35.24 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $32.34. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.00 billion, a PE ratio of 14.90 and a beta of 0.83.

WaFd (NASDAQ:WAFD - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, October 17th. The bank reported $0.71 earnings per share (EPS) 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 analysts' expectations of $190.43 million. WaFd had a net margin of 13.97% and a return on equity of 9.44%. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.72 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts expect that WaFd, Inc will post 2.82 earnings per share for the current year.

WaFd Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 6th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 22nd will be issued a dividend of $0.26 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 22nd. This represents a $1.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.81%. WaFd's dividend payout ratio is currently 41.94%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Ryan Mauer sold 12,132 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 100,376 shares in the company, valued at $3,345,532.08. This represents a 10.78 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available 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.