WaFd, Inc. $WAFD Shares Purchased by Bessemer Group Inc.

Bessemer Group Inc. increased its position in shares of WaFd, Inc. (NASDAQ:WAFD) by 37.9% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 191,044 shares of the bank’s stock after purchasing an additional 52,500 shares during the quarter. Bessemer Group Inc.’s holdings in WaFd were worth $5,999,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in WAFD. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System acquired a new position in WaFd during the first quarter worth $1,055,000. Tudor Investment Corp ET AL acquired a new stake in shares of WaFd in the 3rd quarter worth $1,387,000. Bridgeway Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of WaFd by 8.8% during the 4th quarter. Bridgeway Capital Management LLC now owns 525,351 shares of the bank’s stock worth $16,827,000 after acquiring an additional 42,536 shares during the period. SG Americas Securities LLC raised its holdings in shares of WaFd by 112.5% during the 4th quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 53,645 shares of the bank’s stock worth $1,718,000 after acquiring an additional 28,406 shares during the period. Finally, Azora Capital LP purchased a new position in shares of WaFd during the 4th quarter worth $2,414,000. 83.71% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

WaFd Price Performance

NASDAQ:WAFD opened at $36.84 on Tuesday. WaFd, Inc. has a 52 week low of $26.31 and a 52 week high of $39.49. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $36.62 and its two-hundred day moving average is $34.09. The company has a market capitalization of $2.72 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.62 and a beta of 0.83. The company has a quick ratio of 0.97, a current ratio of 0.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.20.

WaFd (NASDAQ:WAFD) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 16th. The bank reported $0.81 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.82 by ($0.01). The business 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%. Equities analysts expect that WaFd, Inc. will post 3.24 EPS for the current year.

WaFd Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 5th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 22nd were given a $0.27 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 22nd. This represents a $1.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.9%. WaFd’s dividend payout ratio is presently 34.07%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other WaFd news, EVP Kim E. Robison sold 22,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, April 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $35.28, for a total transaction of $776,160.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 116,099 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,095,972.72. This trade represents a 15.93% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 1.49% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on WAFD. DA Davidson upped their price objective on shares of WaFd from $38.00 to $40.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their target price on shares of WaFd from $35.00 to $38.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Monday, April 20th. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of WaFd from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a report on Friday, May 22nd. Piper Sandler increased their price target on shares of WaFd from $30.50 to $36.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, April 20th. Finally, Zacks Research cut shares of WaFd from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, June 22nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target 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.