Public Sector Pension Investment Board Purchases 34,073 Shares of WaFd, Inc. $WAFD

Public Sector Pension Investment Board lifted its position in WaFd, Inc. (NASDAQ:WAFD) by 12.5% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 307,366 shares of the bank’s stock after purchasing an additional 34,073 shares during the quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board owned about 0.39% of WaFd worth $9,310,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in WAFD. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. increased its stake in WaFd by 42.8% in the second quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 1,174 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $34,000 after acquiring an additional 352 shares during the last quarter. McIlrath & Eck LLC boosted its holdings in WaFd by 57.6% in the second quarter. McIlrath & Eck LLC now owns 1,327 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $39,000 after acquiring an additional 485 shares in the last quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. increased its position in WaFd by 604.5% during the 3rd quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 1,423 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $43,000 after purchasing an additional 1,221 shares during the period. Blue Trust Inc. increased its position in WaFd by 36.0% during the 3rd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,837 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $56,000 after purchasing an additional 486 shares during the period. Finally, EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC raised its holdings in WaFd by 712.4% in the 2nd quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,901 shares of the bank’s stock worth $56,000 after purchasing an additional 1,667 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 83.71% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. 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 report on Tuesday, January 20th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their target price on WaFd from $31.00 to $34.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 20th. Piper Sandler dropped their price target on WaFd from $33.50 to $30.50 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 20th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded WaFd from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Sunday, February 8th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating, According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $32.90.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Brent J. Beardall acquired 3,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, December 3rd. The stock was acquired at an average price of $16.85 per share, with a total value of $50,550.00. Following the acquisition, the chief executive officer directly owned 6,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $101,100. This trade represents a 100.00% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Cathy E. Cooper sold 5,300 shares of WaFd 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 sale, 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. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders own 1.49% of the company’s stock.

WaFd Stock Up 0.6%

Shares of WaFd stock opened at $32.88 on Tuesday. The company’s 50 day moving average is $32.82 and its 200 day moving average is $31.35. WaFd, Inc. has a twelve month low of $23.75 and a twelve 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 market cap of $2.49 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.38 and a beta of 0.86.

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

WaFd Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 27th. Investors of record on Friday, February 13th will be given a dividend of $0.27 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 13th. This represents a $1.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.3%. WaFd’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 37.37%.

WaFd 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.