Hennessy Advisors Inc. Increases Stake in WaFd, Inc (NASDAQ:WAFD)

Hennessy Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in WaFd, Inc (NASDAQ:WAFD) by 1.0% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 101,000 shares of the bank’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,000 shares during the quarter. Hennessy Advisors Inc. owned 0.16% of WaFd worth $2,932,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of WAFD. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. grew its stake in WaFd by 5.8% in the fourth quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 12,054 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $397,000 after purchasing an additional 661 shares during the last quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. boosted its holdings in WaFd by 4.4% in the fourth quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 29,496 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $972,000 after purchasing an additional 1,250 shares during the last quarter. Natixis Advisors L.P. boosted its holdings in WaFd by 17.3% in the fourth quarter. Natixis Advisors L.P. now owns 14,732 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $485,000 after purchasing an additional 2,177 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC boosted its holdings in WaFd by 2.0% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 120,314 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $3,082,000 after purchasing an additional 2,304 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Congress Asset Management Co. MA boosted its holdings in WaFd by 1.2% in the first quarter. Congress Asset Management Co. MA now owns 223,770 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $6,496,000 after purchasing an additional 2,688 shares during the last quarter. 83.71% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

WaFd Trading Up 2.3 %

Shares of NASDAQ:WAFD traded up $0.62 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $28.16. 276,524 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 378,389. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.07, a current ratio of 1.17 and a quick ratio of 1.03. The firm has a market cap of $2.29 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.47 and a beta of 0.85. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $27.72 and its 200 day simple moving average is $28.71. WaFd, Inc has a 1 year low of $23.36 and a 1 year high of $34.07.

WaFd (NASDAQ:WAFD) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, April 22nd. The bank reported $0.73 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.31 by $0.42. The firm had revenue of $171.99 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $170.74 million. WaFd had a net margin of 15.33% and a return on equity of 10.02%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 7.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.95 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that WaFd, Inc will post 2.77 EPS for the current year.

WaFd Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 7th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 24th were issued a $0.26 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, May 23rd. This represents a $1.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.69%. WaFd’s payout ratio is 39.54%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have commented on the stock. StockNews.com lowered shares of WaFd from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Thursday, March 21st. Stephens reiterated an “equal weight” rating and issued a $32.00 price objective on shares of WaFd in a research report on Tuesday, April 23rd. Piper Sandler upped their price objective on shares of WaFd from $29.00 to $31.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, May 20th. Finally, DA Davidson reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $35.00 price objective on shares of WaFd in a research report on Thursday, April 11th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $33.25.

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.