Washington Federal, Inc. (NASDAQ:WAFD) CEO Brent J. Beardall Buys 1,600 Shares

Washington Federal, Inc. (NASDAQ:WAFD – Get Rating) CEO Brent J. Beardall acquired 1,600 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 13th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $30.20 per share, for a total transaction of $48,320.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the chief executive officer now directly owns 28,894 shares in the company, valued at $872,598.80. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link.

Washington Federal Stock Down 0.6 %

WAFD stock opened at $32.05 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $2.10 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.35 and a beta of 0.85. Washington Federal, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $29.08 and a fifty-two week high of $39.17. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $34.82 and its 200 day simple moving average is $34.24. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.52, a quick ratio of 1.09 and a current ratio of 1.09.

Washington Federal (NASDAQ:WAFD – Get Rating) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 12th. The bank reported $1.16 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.11 by $0.05. The firm had revenue of $196.82 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $194.50 million. Washington Federal had a return on equity of 13.60% and a net margin of 32.70%. On average, research analysts expect that Washington Federal, Inc. will post 4.43 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Washington Federal Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 24th were paid a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 23rd. This is an increase from Washington Federal’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.24. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.12%. Washington Federal’s dividend payout ratio is 26.04%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

WAFD has been the topic of a number of research reports. Piper Sandler upped their price target on Washington Federal from $36.00 to $37.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 17th. DA Davidson upped their price target on Washington Federal from $43.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 17th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded Washington Federal from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 21st.

Institutional Trading of Washington Federal

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Meeder Asset Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Washington Federal by 179.0% in the second quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. now owns 1,225 shares of the bank’s stock worth $37,000 after purchasing an additional 786 shares during the last quarter. Ronald Blue Trust Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Washington Federal by 123.8% in the fourth quarter. Ronald Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,611 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $48,000 after acquiring an additional 891 shares in the last quarter. US Bancorp DE grew its holdings in shares of Washington Federal by 16.0% in the third quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 2,105 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $63,000 after acquiring an additional 290 shares in the last quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC grew its holdings in shares of Washington Federal by 73.8% in the third quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 2,417 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $72,000 after acquiring an additional 1,026 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Point72 Hong Kong Ltd bought a new position in shares of Washington Federal in the first quarter valued at approximately $82,000. 80.35% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.