WaFd, Inc (NASDAQ:WAFD) Holdings Lifted by Principal Securities Inc.

Principal Securities Inc. increased its holdings in shares of WaFd, Inc (NASDAQ:WAFD) by 10.3% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 7,633 shares of the bank’s stock after buying an additional 712 shares during the quarter. Principal Securities Inc.’s holdings in WaFd were worth $246,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Blue Trust Inc. grew its holdings in shares of WaFd by 80.8% during the third quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,188 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $41,000 after buying an additional 531 shares in the last quarter. McIlrath & Eck LLC grew its holdings in shares of WaFd by 112.7% during the third quarter. McIlrath & Eck LLC now owns 1,323 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $46,000 after buying an additional 701 shares in the last quarter. Covestor Ltd grew its stake in WaFd by 60.1% in the third quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 1,904 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $66,000 after purchasing an additional 715 shares in the last quarter. KBC Group NV grew its stake in WaFd by 35.1% in the third quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 2,797 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $97,000 after purchasing an additional 726 shares in the last quarter. Finally, HighTower Advisors LLC purchased a new position in WaFd in the third quarter valued at about $237,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.71% of the company’s stock.

WaFd Stock Performance

WAFD opened at $29.26 on Monday. The company has a market cap of $2.39 billion, a PE ratio of 13.48 and a beta of 0.85. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $31.09 and a 200-day moving average of $33.93. WaFd, Inc has a 52-week low of $25.78 and a 52-week high of $38.62. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.05, a quick ratio of 1.04 and a current ratio of 1.04.

WaFd Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 7th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 21st will be paid a dividend of $0.27 per share. This represents a $1.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.69%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 21st. This is an increase from WaFd’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.26. WaFd’s dividend payout ratio is 49.77%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have commented on WAFD. Piper Sandler lowered their target price on WaFd from $37.00 to $31.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. Stephens restated an “equal weight” rating and issued a $38.00 target price on shares of WaFd in a research note on Friday, January 17th. DA Davidson downgraded WaFd from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and lowered their target price for the company from $35.00 to $32.00 in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. StockNews.com upgraded WaFd from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 12th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their price target on WaFd from $42.00 to $34.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $33.75.

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.