GAMMA Investing LLC Increases Holdings in WaFd, Inc (NASDAQ:WAFD)

GAMMA Investing LLC increased its holdings in shares of WaFd, Inc (NASDAQ:WAFD) by 2,337.2% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 40,555 shares of the bank’s stock after purchasing an additional 38,891 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC’s holdings in WaFd were worth $1,159,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. CIBC Asset Management Inc raised its stake in WaFd by 4.8% during the fourth quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 7,424 shares of the bank’s stock worth $239,000 after acquiring an additional 338 shares during the period. Harbour Investments Inc. raised 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 acquiring an additional 400 shares during the period. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co raised its stake in WaFd by 0.4% during the fourth quarter. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co now owns 98,124 shares of the bank’s stock worth $3,162,000 after acquiring an additional 433 shares during the period. Summit Investment Advisors Inc. raised its stake in WaFd by 6.9% during the fourth quarter. Summit Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 6,987 shares of the bank’s stock worth $225,000 after acquiring an additional 450 shares during the period. Finally, Principal Securities Inc. raised its stake in WaFd by 10.3% during the fourth quarter. Principal Securities Inc. now owns 7,633 shares of the bank’s stock worth $246,000 after acquiring an additional 712 shares during the period. 83.71% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

WaFd Trading Down 2.5%

WaFd stock opened at $28.07 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.05, a quick ratio of 1.04 and a current ratio of 1.04. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $28.36 and its 200-day simple moving average is $29.87. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.25 billion, a PE ratio of 12.94 and a beta of 0.85. WaFd, Inc has a 52 week low of $23.75 and a 52 week high of $38.62.

WaFd (NASDAQ:WAFD) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, April 11th. The bank reported $0.65 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.60 by $0.05. The company had revenue of $179.79 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $184.17 million. WaFd had a return on equity of 8.78% and a net margin of 12.66%. Equities research analysts forecast that WaFd, Inc will post 2.56 earnings per share for the current year.

WaFd Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 6th. Investors of record on Friday, May 23rd were given a $0.27 dividend. This represents a $1.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.85%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 23rd. WaFd’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 40.75%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

WAFD has been the topic of several research reports. Stephens reiterated an “equal weight” rating and set a $29.00 price objective on shares of WaFd in a research note on Monday, April 14th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their price target on shares of WaFd from $32.00 to $30.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 16th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of WaFd from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, April 12th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $30.50.

WaFd Profile

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.