Assenagon Asset Management S.A. Decreases Holdings in WaFd, Inc (NASDAQ:WAFD)

Assenagon Asset Management S.A. reduced its position in WaFd, Inc (NASDAQ:WAFD) by 70.3% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 158,635 shares of the bank’s stock after selling 374,606 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. owned approximately 0.19% of WaFd worth $5,114,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of WAFD. Cooper Financial Group raised its stake in WaFd by 3.2% during the fourth quarter. Cooper Financial Group now owns 11,134 shares of the bank’s stock worth $359,000 after acquiring an additional 345 shares during the period. D.A. Davidson & CO. boosted its holdings in shares of WaFd by 1.1% in the third quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. now owns 41,400 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $1,443,000 after acquiring an additional 437 shares in the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. boosted its holdings in WaFd by 80.8% during the third quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,188 shares of the bank’s stock worth $41,000 after buying an additional 531 shares in the last quarter. McIlrath & Eck LLC boosted its holdings in WaFd by 112.7% during the third quarter. McIlrath & Eck LLC now owns 1,323 shares of the bank’s stock worth $46,000 after buying an additional 701 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Covestor Ltd boosted its holdings in WaFd by 60.1% during the third quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 1,904 shares of the bank’s stock worth $66,000 after buying an additional 715 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.71% of the company’s stock.

WaFd Trading Down 2.5 %

Shares of WAFD stock opened at $30.25 on Tuesday. WaFd, Inc has a 12-month low of $25.78 and a 12-month high of $38.62. The company has a market capitalization of $2.46 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.20 and a beta of 0.87. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $34.23 and a 200 day moving average price of $34.43. The company has a quick ratio of 1.08, a current ratio of 1.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21.

WaFd Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 6th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 22nd were paid a $0.26 dividend. This represents a $1.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.44%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 22nd. WaFd’s dividend payout ratio is presently 41.94%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

WAFD has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Stephens reaffirmed an “equal weight” rating and issued a $38.00 price objective on shares of WaFd in a research note on Friday. DA Davidson raised their price target on shares of WaFd from $39.00 to $41.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, October 21st. StockNews.com upgraded shares of WaFd from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 12th. Piper Sandler decreased their price target on shares of WaFd from $36.00 to $35.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, October 21st. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reiterated a “market perform” rating and set a $40.00 target price on shares of WaFd in a research report on Monday, October 21st. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, WaFd currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $38.50.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other WaFd news, EVP Ryan Mauer sold 12,132 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $33.33, for a total value of $404,359.56. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 100,376 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,345,532.08. The trade was a 10.78 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders own 1.46% of the company’s stock.

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.