Empowered Funds LLC Acquires Shares of 348,477 WaFd, Inc. $WAFD

Empowered Funds LLC bought a new position in shares of WaFd, Inc. (NASDAQ:WAFD) during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund bought 348,477 shares of the bank’s stock, valued at approximately $13,371,000. Empowered Funds LLC owned approximately 0.47% of WaFd as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund boosted its position in shares of WaFd by 1.7% in the 4th quarter. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund now owns 18,056 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $578,000 after purchasing an additional 300 shares during the period. ProShare Advisors LLC lifted its stake in WaFd by 2.0% in the fourth quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 15,162 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $486,000 after buying an additional 304 shares during the last quarter. Baron Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in WaFd by 3.8% in the first quarter. Baron Wealth Management LLC now owns 8,720 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $274,000 after buying an additional 323 shares during the last quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of WaFd by 3.8% in the fourth quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC now owns 9,539 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $306,000 after acquiring an additional 350 shares during the period. Finally, Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. boosted its holdings in shares of 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 period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.71% of the company’s stock.

WaFd Trading Down 0.2%

Shares of WaFd stock opened at $36.09 on Friday. WaFd, Inc. has a 12-month low of $26.31 and a 12-month high of $39.49. The company has a current ratio of 0.98, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.20. The stock has a market cap of $2.67 billion, a PE ratio of 11.38 and a beta of 0.84. The company has a 50-day moving average of $37.40 and a two-hundred day moving average of $34.96.

WaFd (NASDAQ:WAFD) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, July 17th. The bank reported $0.81 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.82 by ($0.01). The firm had revenue of $205.52 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $199.56 million. WaFd had a return on equity of 8.98% and a net margin of 18.47%. On average, research analysts anticipate that WaFd, Inc. will post 3.21 EPS for the current fiscal year.

WaFd Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 4th. Investors of record on Friday, August 21st will be issued a dividend of $0.27 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 21st. This represents a $1.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.0%. WaFd’s payout ratio is currently 34.07%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

WAFD has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. DA Davidson lifted their target price on shares of WaFd from $38.00 to $40.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, July 20th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of WaFd in a research note on Wednesday, August 19th. Finally, Zacks Research lowered shares of WaFd from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, June 22nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $37.00.

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.