Clearbridge Investments LLC Has $19.07 Million Stock Position in WaFd, Inc (NASDAQ:WAFD)

Clearbridge Investments LLC cut its holdings in WaFd, Inc (NASDAQ:WAFD) by 0.3% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 591,427 shares of the bank’s stock after selling 1,495 shares during the period. Clearbridge Investments LLC owned approximately 0.73% of WaFd worth $19,068,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of WAFD. CIBC Asset Management Inc lifted its position in shares of WaFd by 4.8% during the 4th quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 7,424 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $239,000 after acquiring an additional 338 shares during the period. Cooper Financial Group raised its stake in WaFd by 3.2% in the fourth quarter. Cooper Financial Group now owns 11,134 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $359,000 after purchasing an additional 345 shares in the last quarter. Harbour Investments Inc. lifted its position in WaFd by 29.6% during the fourth quarter. Harbour Investments Inc. now owns 1,752 shares of the bank’s stock worth $56,000 after purchasing an additional 400 shares during the period. McIlrath & Eck LLC grew its stake 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, Principal Securities Inc. increased its holdings in WaFd by 10.3% in the 4th quarter. Principal Securities Inc. now owns 7,633 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $246,000 after buying an additional 712 shares during the period. 83.71% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Piper Sandler cut their price target on shares of WaFd from $37.00 to $31.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. StockNews.com upgraded WaFd from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 6th. Stephens reissued an “equal weight” rating and issued a $38.00 price objective on shares of WaFd in a research note on Friday, January 17th. DA Davidson lowered WaFd from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and cut their price target for the company from $35.00 to $32.00 in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their price target on shares of WaFd from $42.00 to $34.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $33.75.

WaFd Price Performance

WAFD stock opened at $28.75 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.04, a current ratio of 1.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.05. The firm has a market cap of $2.34 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.25 and a beta of 0.83. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $29.21 and its 200 day simple moving average is $32.64. WaFd, Inc has a 12-month low of $25.79 and a 12-month high of $38.62.

WaFd Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 7th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 21st were paid a $0.27 dividend. This represents a $1.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.76%. This is an increase from WaFd’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.26. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 21st. WaFd’s payout ratio is currently 49.77%.

WaFd Company Profile

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.