WaFd, Inc (NASDAQ:WAFD) Shares Bought by BNP Paribas Financial Markets

BNP Paribas Financial Markets grew its position in shares of WaFd, Inc (NASDAQ:WAFD) by 69.3% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 28,997 shares of the bank’s stock after purchasing an additional 11,868 shares during the period. BNP Paribas Financial Markets’ holdings in WaFd were worth $1,011,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of WAFD. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System lifted its holdings in shares of WaFd by 1.2% during the 2nd quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System now owns 34,000 shares of the bank’s stock worth $972,000 after acquiring an additional 400 shares during the period. D.A. Davidson & CO. lifted its holdings in shares of WaFd by 1.1% during the 3rd quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. now owns 41,400 shares of the bank’s stock worth $1,443,000 after acquiring an additional 437 shares during the period. Blue Trust Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of WaFd by 80.8% during the 3rd 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. Covestor Ltd lifted its holdings 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 acquiring an additional 715 shares during the period. Finally, KBC Group NV lifted 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 worth $97,000 after acquiring an additional 726 shares during the period. 83.71% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on WAFD shares. DA Davidson increased their price objective on shares of WaFd from $39.00 to $41.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, October 21st. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reiterated a “market perform” rating and set a $40.00 price objective on shares of WaFd in a report on Monday, October 21st. Piper Sandler cut their price objective on shares of WaFd from $36.00 to $35.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, October 21st. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of WaFd from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 12th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $38.00.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Ryan Mauer sold 12,132 shares of WaFd stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $33.33, for a total transaction of $404,359.56. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 100,376 shares in the company, valued at $3,345,532.08. This trade represents a 10.78 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Insiders own 2.25% of the company’s stock.

WaFd Trading Down 0.3 %

NASDAQ WAFD opened at $35.77 on Wednesday. WaFd, Inc has a one year low of $25.78 and a one year high of $38.62. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $35.66 and its 200 day moving average price is $33.33. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21, a quick ratio of 1.08 and a current ratio of 1.08. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.91 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.42 and a beta of 0.84.

WaFd (NASDAQ:WAFD) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 17th. The bank reported $0.71 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.70 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $389.98 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates 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 firm posted $0.72 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts predict that WaFd, Inc will post 2.82 EPS for the current year.

WaFd Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 6th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 22nd were paid a dividend of $0.26 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 22nd. This represents a $1.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.91%. WaFd’s dividend payout ratio is currently 41.94%.

About WaFd

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.