Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank Raises Stake in WaFd, Inc. (NASDAQ:WAFD)

Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank lifted its position in shares of WaFd, Inc. (NASDAQ:WAFD) by 14.4% in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 21,443 shares of the bank’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,696 shares during the quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank’s holdings in WaFd were worth $613,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd grew its holdings in shares of WaFd by 983.5% during the 4th quarter. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd now owns 1,116 shares of the bank’s stock worth $36,000 after purchasing an additional 1,013 shares during the period. TD Private Client Wealth LLC grew its holdings in shares of WaFd by 35.2% during the 1st quarter. TD Private Client Wealth LLC now owns 2,002 shares of the bank’s stock worth $57,000 after purchasing an additional 521 shares during the period. KBC Group NV grew its holdings in shares of WaFd by 12.7% during the 1st quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 4,239 shares of the bank’s stock worth $121,000 after purchasing an additional 477 shares during the period. Aquatic Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of WaFd during the 4th quarter worth about $141,000. Finally, Summit Investment Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in shares of WaFd by 6.9% during the 4th quarter. Summit Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 6,987 shares of the bank’s stock worth $225,000 after purchasing an additional 450 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.71% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have weighed in on WAFD. DA Davidson upped their price target on WaFd from $29.00 to $33.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, July 21st. Stephens upped their price target on WaFd from $32.00 to $33.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, July 21st. Wall Street Zen upgraded WaFd from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, July 18th. Piper Sandler upped their price target on WaFd from $30.00 to $31.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, July 21st. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price target on WaFd from $30.00 to $32.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Monday, July 21st. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $32.25.

WaFd Stock Performance

Shares of WAFD opened at $29.42 on Thursday. The business’s 50 day moving average is $29.42 and its two-hundred day moving average is $28.94. WaFd, Inc. has a 52-week low of $23.75 and a 52-week high of $38.62. The firm has a market cap of $2.36 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.19 and a beta of 0.90. The company has a quick ratio of 1.02, a current ratio of 0.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71.

WaFd (NASDAQ:WAFD) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, July 17th. The bank reported $0.73 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.67 by $0.06. WaFd had a return on equity of 8.57% and a net margin of 15.57%. The company had revenue of $186.26 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $184.47 million. Analysts forecast that WaFd, Inc. will post 2.56 EPS for the current fiscal year.

WaFd Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 6th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 23rd were given a $0.27 dividend. This represents a $1.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 23rd. WaFd’s dividend payout ratio is presently 41.06%.

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.