Randall H. Talbot Buys 3,500 Shares of Washington Federal, Inc. (NASDAQ:WAFD) Stock

Washington Federal, Inc. (NASDAQ:WAFD – Get Rating) Director Randall H. Talbot bought 3,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, March 10th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $31.10 per share, for a total transaction of $108,850.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now directly owns 51,879 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,613,436.90. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link.

Washington Federal Stock Down 0.1 %

WAFD stock opened at $31.69 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.52, a current ratio of 1.09 and a quick ratio of 1.09. Washington Federal, Inc. has a 1-year low of $29.46 and a 1-year high of $39.17. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.07 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.25 and a beta of 0.85. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $34.87 and a 200-day moving average price of $34.26.

Washington Federal (NASDAQ:WAFD – Get Rating) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, January 12th. The bank reported $1.16 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.11 by $0.05. The business had revenue of $196.82 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $194.50 million. Washington Federal had a return on equity of 13.60% and a net margin of 32.70%. Equities analysts forecast that Washington Federal, Inc. will post 4.43 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Washington Federal Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 10th. Investors of record on Friday, February 24th were issued a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 23rd. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.16%. This is a boost from Washington Federal’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.24. Washington Federal’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 26.04%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Washington Federal

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in WAFD. BlackRock Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Washington Federal by 3.7% in the 1st quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 7,869,600 shares of the bank’s stock worth $258,281,000 after buying an additional 278,963 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Washington Federal by 1.9% in the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 7,074,908 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $212,105,000 after acquiring an additional 130,515 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its holdings in Washington Federal by 2.0% in the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 5,351,127 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $179,532,000 after acquiring an additional 106,400 shares during the period. State Street Corp boosted its position in Washington Federal by 13.9% in the second quarter. State Street Corp now owns 3,124,445 shares of the bank’s stock worth $93,796,000 after purchasing an additional 381,753 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Washington Federal by 9.7% during the 1st quarter. Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. now owns 2,073,735 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $68,060,000 after purchasing an additional 183,238 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 80.35% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently issued reports on WAFD. StockNews.com lowered Washington Federal from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 21st. Piper Sandler lifted their target price on shares of Washington Federal from $36.00 to $37.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 17th. Finally, DA Davidson upped their target price on shares of Washington Federal from $43.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 17th.

About Washington Federal

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Washington Federal, Inc engages in the provision of lending, depository, insurance, and other banking services to consumers. It operates under the Commercial Loans and Consumer Loans segments. The Commercial Loans segment is disaggregated into five classes: multi-family, commercial real estate, commercial and industrial, construction, and land acquisition and development.