Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC Makes New Investment in WaFd, Inc. $WAFD

Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC bought a new stake in WaFd, Inc. (NASDAQ:WAFD) in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund bought 6,444 shares of the bank’s stock, valued at approximately $201,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Rhumbline Advisers lifted its stake in shares of WaFd by 2.6% in the 1st quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 236,909 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $6,771,000 after acquiring an additional 6,068 shares during the last quarter. Jane Street Group LLC lifted its stake in shares of WaFd by 862.6% in the 1st quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 69,306 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $1,981,000 after acquiring an additional 62,106 shares during the last quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC lifted its stake in shares of WaFd by 9.2% in the 1st quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 246,467 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $7,044,000 after acquiring an additional 20,865 shares during the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC lifted its stake in shares of WaFd by 27.5% in the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 284,555 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $8,133,000 after acquiring an additional 61,364 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Jones Financial Companies Lllp lifted its stake in shares of WaFd by 131,425.4% in the 1st quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 77,600 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $2,218,000 after acquiring an additional 77,541 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 83.71% of the company’s stock.

WaFd Stock Performance

WaFd stock opened at $28.61 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.98, a current ratio of 0.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71. The company has a market capitalization of $2.25 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.88 and a beta of 0.88. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $30.72 and its 200 day moving average is $29.42. WaFd, Inc. has a twelve month low of $23.75 and a twelve month high of $38.62.

WaFd (NASDAQ:WAFD) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 17th. The bank reported $0.73 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.67 by $0.06. The company had revenue of $186.26 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $184.47 million. WaFd had a return on equity of 8.57% and a net margin of 15.57%. On average, equities research analysts predict that WaFd, Inc. will post 2.56 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

WaFd Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 5th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 22nd were paid a dividend of $0.27 per share. This represents a $1.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.8%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 22nd. WaFd’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 41.06%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other WaFd news, Director Sean Singleton sold 1,004 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, September 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $31.71, for a total transaction of $31,836.84. Following the sale, the director directly owned 9,278 shares in the company, valued at approximately $294,205.38. This trade represents a 9.76% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 1.46% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have commented on WAFD shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price target on WaFd from $30.00 to $32.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Monday, July 21st. Stephens upped their price target on WaFd from $32.00 to $33.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, July 21st. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of WaFd in a research report on Wednesday. Wall Street Zen raised WaFd from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, July 18th. Finally, DA Davidson upped their price target on WaFd from $29.00 to $33.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, July 21st. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating, According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $32.25.

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.