Bank of America Corp DE Cuts Position in WaFd, Inc (NASDAQ:WAFD)

Bank of America Corp DE trimmed its position in shares of WaFd, Inc (NASDAQ:WAFD) by 12.3% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 557,548 shares of the bank’s stock after selling 78,224 shares during the period. Bank of America Corp DE owned approximately 0.68% of WaFd worth $17,975,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd increased its stake in WaFd by 983.5% during the fourth quarter. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd now owns 1,116 shares of the bank’s stock worth $36,000 after acquiring an additional 1,013 shares during the last quarter. Harbour Investments Inc. boosted its stake in WaFd by 29.6% during the fourth quarter. Harbour Investments Inc. now owns 1,752 shares of the bank’s stock worth $56,000 after buying an additional 400 shares during the period. Blue Trust Inc. increased its position in WaFd by 68.4% during the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 2,000 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $70,000 after acquiring an additional 812 shares during the last quarter. US Bancorp DE raised its stake in shares of WaFd by 136.7% in the fourth quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 3,638 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $117,000 after acquiring an additional 2,101 shares during the period. Finally, KBC Group NV lifted its holdings in shares of WaFd by 34.5% in the 4th quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 3,762 shares of the bank’s stock worth $121,000 after acquiring an additional 965 shares during the last quarter. 83.71% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

WAFD has been the subject of several analyst reports. Piper Sandler decreased their price objective on shares of WaFd from $37.00 to $31.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. StockNews.com raised WaFd from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, April 12th. Stephens restated an “equal weight” rating and set a $29.00 price objective on shares of WaFd in a report on Monday, April 14th. DA Davidson lowered WaFd from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and reduced their target price for the stock from $35.00 to $32.00 in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their price target on shares of WaFd from $32.00 to $30.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 16th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $30.50.

WaFd Stock Up 0.2%

Shares of NASDAQ:WAFD opened at $29.76 on Wednesday. The business’s 50 day moving average is $28.04 and its 200 day moving average is $30.91. The stock has a market cap of $2.39 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.71 and a beta of 0.85. WaFd, Inc has a 52-week low of $23.75 and a 52-week high of $38.62. 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 (NASDAQ:WAFD) last issued its earnings results on Friday, April 11th. The bank reported $0.65 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.60 by $0.05. WaFd had a return on equity of 8.78% and a net margin of 12.66%. The business had revenue of $179.79 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $184.17 million. Sell-side analysts predict that WaFd, Inc will post 2.56 EPS for the current year.

WaFd Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 6th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 23rd will be issued a $0.27 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 23rd. This represents a $1.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.63%. WaFd’s dividend payout ratio is currently 40.75%.

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.