Victory Capital Management Inc. Sells 95,933 Shares of WaFd, Inc (NASDAQ:WAFD)

Victory Capital Management Inc. lowered its stake in shares of WaFd, Inc (NASDAQ:WAFD) by 35.2% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 176,788 shares of the bank’s stock after selling 95,933 shares during the quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. owned approximately 0.22% of WaFd worth $6,161,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Ameritas Investment Partners Inc. grew its holdings in WaFd by 5.7% during the 1st quarter. Ameritas Investment Partners Inc. now owns 6,887 shares of the bank’s stock worth $200,000 after acquiring an additional 373 shares during the last quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System boosted its stake in shares of WaFd by 1.2% in the 2nd quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System now owns 34,000 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $972,000 after purchasing an additional 400 shares during the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. boosted its stake in shares of WaFd by 80.8% in the 3rd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,188 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $41,000 after purchasing an additional 531 shares during the last quarter. Covestor Ltd boosted its stake in shares of WaFd by 60.1% in the 3rd quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 1,904 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $66,000 after purchasing an additional 715 shares during the last quarter. Finally, California State Teachers Retirement System boosted its stake in shares of WaFd by 1.2% in the 1st quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 69,092 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $2,006,000 after purchasing an additional 790 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 83.71% of the company’s stock.

WaFd Stock Up 2.9 %

WaFd stock opened at $37.15 on Friday. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $35.30 and its 200 day simple moving average is $32.57. WaFd, Inc has a fifty-two week low of $25.78 and a fifty-two week high of $38.58. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.02 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.66 and a beta of 0.83. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21, a current ratio of 1.08 and a quick ratio of 1.09.

WaFd (NASDAQ:WAFD) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 17th. The bank reported $0.71 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.70 by $0.01. WaFd had a net margin of 13.97% and a return on equity of 9.44%. The business had revenue of $389.98 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $190.43 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.72 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that WaFd, Inc will post 2.82 EPS for the current year.

WaFd Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 6th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 22nd will be issued a dividend of $0.26 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 22nd. This represents a $1.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.80%. WaFd’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 41.94%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other WaFd news, EVP Ryan Mauer sold 12,132 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $33.33, for a total transaction of $404,359.56. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 100,376 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,345,532.08. This trade represents a 10.78 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Corporate insiders own 2.25% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. DA Davidson raised their target price on shares of WaFd from $39.00 to $41.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, October 21st. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reaffirmed a “market perform” rating and issued a $40.00 target price on shares of WaFd in a research note on Monday, October 21st. Piper Sandler reduced their target price on shares of WaFd from $36.00 to $35.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, October 21st. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of WaFd from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 12th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, WaFd currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $38.00.

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.