Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its position in WaFd, Inc (NASDAQ:WAFD - Free Report) by 4.5% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 447,621 shares of the bank's stock after purchasing an additional 19,117 shares during the quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned approximately 0.55% of WaFd worth $14,431,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.
Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of WAFD. Blue Trust Inc. grew its holdings in WaFd by 80.8% during 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 during the period. McIlrath & Eck LLC boosted its position in WaFd by 112.7% in the 3rd quarter. McIlrath & Eck LLC now owns 1,323 shares of the bank's stock worth $46,000 after purchasing an additional 701 shares in the last quarter. Covestor Ltd grew its stake in shares of WaFd by 60.1% during the 3rd quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 1,904 shares of the bank's stock worth $66,000 after purchasing an additional 715 shares during the period. KBC Group NV increased its holdings in shares of WaFd by 35.1% during the 3rd quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 2,797 shares of the bank's stock valued at $97,000 after purchasing an additional 726 shares in the last quarter. Finally, HighTower Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of WaFd during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $237,000. 83.71% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.
Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades
WAFD has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their target price on WaFd from $42.00 to $34.00 and set a "market perform" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. StockNews.com downgraded shares of WaFd from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Tuesday, February 25th. Stephens reissued an "equal weight" rating and set a $38.00 target price on shares of WaFd in a research note on Friday, January 17th. DA Davidson lowered shares of WaFd from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and decreased their price target for the company from $35.00 to $32.00 in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, Piper Sandler lowered their price objective on WaFd from $37.00 to $31.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and four have issued a hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $33.75.
Check Out Our Latest Stock Analysis on WaFd
WaFd Stock Down 0.3 %
WaFd stock traded down $0.10 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $29.59. The company had a trading volume of 784,836 shares, compared to its average volume of 535,339. The company has a quick ratio of 1.04, a current ratio of 1.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.05. WaFd, Inc has a 1 year low of $25.78 and a 1 year high of $38.62. The business has a fifty day moving average of $30.70 and a 200 day moving average of $33.79. The stock has a market cap of $2.41 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.64 and a beta of 0.85.
WaFd Increases Dividend
The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 7th. Investors of record on Friday, February 21st will be paid a dividend of $0.27 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 21st. This represents a $1.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.65%. This is a boost from WaFd's previous quarterly dividend of $0.26. WaFd's dividend payout ratio is currently 49.77%.
WaFd Company Profile
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Free Report)
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.
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