Dimensional Fund Advisors LP Sells 23,230 Shares of WaFd, Inc. $WAFD

Dimensional Fund Advisors LP decreased its holdings in shares of WaFd, Inc. (NASDAQ:WAFD) by 0.5% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 4,954,089 shares of the bank’s stock after selling 23,230 shares during the quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP owned about 6.29% of WaFd worth $150,060,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the business. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd boosted its stake in WaFd by 546.8% in the third quarter. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd now owns 61,036 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $1,849,000 after acquiring an additional 51,600 shares during the last quarter. State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D bought a new stake in shares of WaFd during the 3rd quarter valued at $2,117,000. AlphaCore Capital LLC lifted its stake in shares of WaFd by 99.9% in the 2nd quarter. AlphaCore Capital LLC now owns 33,571 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $983,000 after purchasing an additional 16,780 shares during the period. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership acquired a new position in shares of WaFd in the 2nd quarter valued at $7,666,000. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. boosted its position in shares of WaFd by 2.0% in the 3rd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 2,077,059 shares of the bank’s stock worth $62,914,000 after purchasing an additional 40,569 shares during the last quarter. 83.71% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

WaFd Price Performance

WAFD opened at $30.76 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $2.33 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.64 and a beta of 0.85. WaFd, Inc. has a 12 month low of $23.75 and a 12 month high of $34.29. The company has a quick ratio of 0.95, a current ratio of 0.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $32.48 and a 200 day simple moving average of $31.54.

WaFd (NASDAQ:WAFD) last posted its earnings results on Friday, January 16th. The bank reported $0.75 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.76 by ($0.01). WaFd had a return on equity of 8.67% and a net margin of 17.45%.The business had revenue of $188.32 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $193.36 million. On average, research analysts expect that WaFd, Inc. will post 2.56 EPS for the current year.

WaFd Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 27th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 13th were issued a dividend of $0.27 per share. This represents a $1.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.5%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 13th. WaFd’s payout ratio is 37.37%.

Insider Buying and Selling at WaFd

In related news, EVP Cathy E. Cooper sold 5,300 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $33.77, for a total value of $178,981.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 94,755 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,199,876.35. The trade was a 5.30% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 1.49% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on the company. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of WaFd in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Royal Bank Of Canada set a $34.00 target price on WaFd in a research note on Tuesday, January 20th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their target price on WaFd from $31.00 to $34.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 20th. Piper Sandler lowered their price target on WaFd from $33.50 to $30.50 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 20th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised WaFd from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Sunday, February 8th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating, According to MarketBeat.com, WaFd has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $32.90.

WaFd Company Profile

Washington Federal, Inc, doing business as WaFd Bank, is a publicly traded bank holding company headquartered in Seattle, Washington. Through its subsidiary, WaFd Bank, the company provides a range of banking and financial services to individuals, small-to-medium enterprises, and commercial clients. Established in 1917 as Ballard Savings & Loan in Seattle, the institution expanded over decades to serve customers across the Western United States under the Washington Federal name and has operated as a public company since the early 1980s.

WaFd Bank’s core offerings encompass deposit accounts such as checking, savings, money market, and certificates of deposit, alongside consumer and commercial lending products.