AlphaCore Capital LLC Trims Position in WaFd, Inc. $WAFD

AlphaCore Capital LLC lessened its holdings in shares of WaFd, Inc. (NASDAQ:WAFD) by 50.0% in the third quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 16,790 shares of the bank’s stock after selling 16,781 shares during the period. AlphaCore Capital LLC’s holdings in WaFd were worth $509,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in WAFD. Fox Run Management L.L.C. purchased a new position in WaFd during the 3rd quarter valued at $374,000. State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D purchased a new stake in shares of WaFd in the 3rd quarter worth about $2,117,000. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of WaFd by 2.7% in the 3rd quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 14,070 shares of the bank’s stock worth $426,000 after purchasing an additional 374 shares during the period. Public Sector Pension Investment Board boosted its stake in shares of WaFd by 12.5% during the 3rd quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 307,366 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $9,310,000 after purchasing an additional 34,073 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Caprock Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of WaFd during the third quarter valued at about $318,000. Institutional investors own 83.71% of the company’s stock.

WaFd Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:WAFD opened at $31.16 on Friday. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $32.72 and a 200-day moving average price of $31.52. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89, a current ratio of 0.95 and a quick ratio of 0.95. The company has a market capitalization of $2.36 billion, a PE ratio of 10.78 and a beta of 0.86. WaFd, Inc. has a 1-year low of $23.75 and a 1-year high of $34.29.

WaFd (NASDAQ:WAFD) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 16th. The bank reported $0.75 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.76 by ($0.01). The firm 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%. As a group, equities analysts expect that WaFd, Inc. will post 2.56 EPS for the current fiscal year.

WaFd Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared 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. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 13th. This represents a $1.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.5%. WaFd’s dividend payout ratio is presently 37.37%.

Insider Activity at WaFd

In other news, CEO Brent J. Beardall acquired 3,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, December 3rd. The stock was bought at an average cost of $16.85 per share, for a total transaction of $50,550.00. Following the acquisition, the chief executive officer directly owned 6,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $101,100. The trade was a 100.00% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Cathy E. Cooper sold 5,300 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 6th. The shares were 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 $3,199,876.35. This trade represents a 5.30% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. 1.49% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

WAFD has been the subject of a number of research reports. Weiss Ratings reissued 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. Wall Street Zen upgraded WaFd from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Sunday, February 8th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price target on WaFd from $31.00 to $34.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 20th. Finally, Piper Sandler reduced their price target on WaFd from $33.50 to $30.50 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, January 20th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating, According to data from MarketBeat, WaFd has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $32.90.

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.