WaFd, Inc. $WAFD Shares Sold by Citigroup Inc.

Citigroup Inc. lessened its stake in shares of WaFd, Inc. (NASDAQ:WAFD) by 41.3% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 79,608 shares of the bank’s stock after selling 55,954 shares during the quarter. Citigroup Inc. owned 0.10% of WaFd worth $2,411,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Royal Bank of Canada lifted its holdings in shares of WaFd by 14.5% in the 1st quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 22,011 shares of the bank’s stock worth $629,000 after acquiring an additional 2,783 shares during the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in WaFd by 271.2% in the 1st quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 30,794 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $867,000 after purchasing an additional 22,499 shares during the last quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. increased its holdings in WaFd by 26.6% in the 1st quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 48,094 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $1,375,000 after purchasing an additional 10,092 shares during the last quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC raised its position in WaFd by 9.2% in the first 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 purchasing an additional 20,865 shares during the period. Finally, Jane Street Group LLC raised its position in WaFd by 862.6% in the first quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 69,306 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $1,981,000 after purchasing an additional 62,106 shares during the period. 83.71% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

WaFd Price Performance

WaFd stock opened at $31.00 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.95, a current ratio of 0.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89. WaFd, Inc. has a 52-week low of $23.75 and a 52-week high of $34.29. The firm has a market cap of $2.35 billion, a PE ratio of 10.73 and a beta of 0.85. The company’s 50 day moving average is $32.55 and its two-hundred day moving average is $31.54.

WaFd (NASDAQ:WAFD) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 16th. The bank reported $0.75 EPS 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 during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $193.36 million. On average, research analysts expect that WaFd, Inc. will post 2.56 EPS for the current fiscal year.

WaFd Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 27th. Investors of record on Friday, February 13th were issued a $0.27 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 13th. This represents a $1.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.5%. WaFd’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 37.37%.

About WaFd

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.