The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company Takes Position in WaFd, Inc. $WAFD

The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company purchased a new stake in shares of WaFd, Inc. (NASDAQ:WAFD) during the second quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm purchased 36,931 shares of the bank’s stock, valued at approximately $1,417,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the business. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund lifted its holdings in WaFd by 1.7% in the 4th quarter. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund now owns 18,056 shares of the bank’s stock worth $578,000 after buying an additional 300 shares during the period. ProShare Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of WaFd by 2.0% during the fourth quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 15,162 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $486,000 after buying an additional 304 shares during the period. Baron Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of WaFd by 3.8% during the first quarter. Baron Wealth Management LLC now owns 8,720 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $274,000 after acquiring an additional 323 shares in the last quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of WaFd by 3.8% during the fourth quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC now owns 9,539 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $306,000 after acquiring an additional 350 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. lifted its stake in WaFd by 42.8% in the second quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 1,174 shares of the bank’s stock worth $34,000 after acquiring an additional 352 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 83.71% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms recently weighed in on WAFD. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of WaFd in a report on Wednesday, August 19th. DA Davidson raised their target price on shares of WaFd from $38.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, July 20th. Finally, Zacks Research lowered 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 given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $37.00.

WaFd Trading Up 0.1%

WAFD opened at $35.98 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.98, a current ratio of 0.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.20. WaFd, Inc. has a 52 week low of $26.31 and a 52 week high of $39.49. The stock has a market cap of $2.66 billion, a PE ratio of 11.35 and a beta of 0.83. The business has a 50 day moving average of $37.26 and a 200-day moving average of $35.05.

WaFd (NASDAQ:WAFD) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, July 17th. The bank reported $0.81 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.82 by ($0.01). WaFd had a return on equity of 8.98% and a net margin of 18.47%.The firm had revenue of $205.52 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $199.56 million. Equities research analysts predict that WaFd, Inc. will post 3.23 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

WaFd Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 4th. Investors of record on Friday, August 21st will be given a dividend of $0.27 per share. This represents a $1.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 21st. WaFd’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 34.07%.

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.