Bank of Nova Scotia Acquires New Position in Washington Federal, Inc. (NASDAQ:WAFD)

Bank of Nova Scotia acquired a new stake in Washington Federal, Inc. (NASDAQ:WAFD – Get Rating) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund acquired 6,690 shares of the bank’s stock, valued at approximately $224,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Ronald Blue Trust Inc. increased its holdings in 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 buying an additional 891 shares during the last quarter. US Bancorp DE grew its holdings in shares of Washington Federal by 16.0% during the third quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 2,105 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $63,000 after purchasing an additional 290 shares during the last quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC grew its holdings in shares of Washington Federal by 73.8% during the third quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 2,417 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $72,000 after purchasing an additional 1,026 shares during the last quarter. Point72 Hong Kong Ltd bought a new position in shares of Washington Federal during the first quarter valued at approximately $82,000. Finally, Marshall & Sullivan Inc. WA bought a new position in shares of Washington Federal during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $130,000. 80.35% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director David K. Grant bought 5,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, May 15th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $13.72 per share, for a total transaction of $68,600.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 20,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $274,400. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In related news, Director David K. Grant acquired 5,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 15th. The stock was bought at an average price of $13.72 per share, for a total transaction of $68,600.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 20,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $274,400. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Randall H. Talbot acquired 3,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 10th. The shares were bought at an average price of $31.10 per share, with a total value of $108,850.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 51,879 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,613,436.90. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders bought 15,848 shares of company stock worth $361,626 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 1.46% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently commented on the company. Piper Sandler lowered their target price on Washington Federal from $33.00 to $29.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 17th. DA Davidson lowered their target price on Washington Federal from $37.00 to $35.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 17th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their price objective on Washington Federal from $41.00 to $38.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 17th. Finally, StockNews.com assumed coverage on Washington Federal in a report on Thursday, May 18th. They issued a “sell” rating for the company.

Washington Federal Stock Performance

Shares of WAFD stock opened at $26.46 on Friday. Washington Federal, Inc. has a 12-month low of $23.90 and a 12-month high of $39.17. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.74 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 6.47 and a beta of 0.83. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $28.34 and a 200 day simple moving average of $32.48. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.83, a current ratio of 1.15 and a quick ratio of 1.15.

Washington Federal (NASDAQ:WAFD – Get Rating) last released its earnings results on Thursday, April 13th. The bank reported $0.95 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.11 by ($0.16). The firm had revenue of $185.11 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $194.00 million. Washington Federal had a return on equity of 14.12% and a net margin of 31.00%. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Washington Federal, Inc. will post 4.01 EPS for the current year.

Washington Federal Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 2nd. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 19th will be given a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 18th. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.78%. Washington Federal’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 24.45%.

Washington Federal Company Profile

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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.