GAMMA Investing LLC Has $1.16 Million Stock Position in WaFd, Inc (NASDAQ:WAFD)

GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its position in WaFd, Inc (NASDAQ:WAFD) by 2,337.2% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 40,555 shares of the bank’s stock after purchasing an additional 38,891 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC’s holdings in WaFd were worth $1,159,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd raised its holdings in WaFd by 983.5% in the 4th quarter. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd now owns 1,116 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $36,000 after acquiring an additional 1,013 shares during the period. Harbour Investments Inc. increased its holdings in shares of WaFd by 29.6% during the fourth quarter. Harbour Investments Inc. now owns 1,752 shares of the bank’s stock worth $56,000 after purchasing an additional 400 shares during the period. US Bancorp DE increased its holdings in shares of WaFd by 136.7% during the fourth quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 3,638 shares of the bank’s stock worth $117,000 after purchasing an additional 2,101 shares during the period. Aquatic Capital Management LLC bought a new position in shares of WaFd during the fourth quarter worth approximately $141,000. Finally, Cibc World Markets Corp bought a new position in shares of WaFd during the fourth quarter worth approximately $202,000. 83.71% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

WaFd Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ WAFD opened at $28.07 on Monday. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $28.36 and its 200-day moving average price is $29.87. WaFd, Inc has a 1-year low of $23.75 and a 1-year high of $38.62. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.25 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.94 and a beta of 0.85. The company has a current ratio of 1.04, a quick ratio of 1.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.05.

WaFd (NASDAQ:WAFD) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, April 11th. The bank reported $0.65 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.60 by $0.05. WaFd had a net margin of 12.66% and a return on equity of 8.78%. The firm had revenue of $179.79 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $184.17 million. Equities research analysts anticipate 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, June 6th. Investors of record on Friday, May 23rd were issued a $0.27 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 23rd. This represents a $1.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.85%. WaFd’s dividend payout ratio is presently 40.75%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

WAFD has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Wall Street Zen raised shares of WaFd from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, April 12th. Stephens reaffirmed an “equal weight” rating and set a $29.00 target price on shares of WaFd in a research note on Monday, April 14th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their price target on shares of WaFd from $32.00 to $30.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 16th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $30.50.

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.