WaFd, Inc (NASDAQ:WAFD) Shares Purchased by American Century Companies Inc.

American Century Companies Inc. boosted its stake in WaFd, Inc (NASDAQ:WAFD) by 15.3% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 1,774,081 shares of the bank’s stock after purchasing an additional 234,977 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc.’s holdings in WaFd were worth $57,196,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Systematic Financial Management LP boosted its position in shares of WaFd by 21.5% during the third quarter. Systematic Financial Management LP now owns 1,432,523 shares of the bank’s stock worth $49,923,000 after buying an additional 253,044 shares during the period. State Street Corp boosted its holdings in WaFd by 5.2% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 3,969,790 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $138,347,000 after acquiring an additional 195,845 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in WaFd by 10.0% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,759,135 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $61,318,000 after acquiring an additional 159,750 shares in the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its stake in WaFd by 28.6% during the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 428,504 shares of the bank’s stock worth $14,933,000 after purchasing an additional 95,251 shares during the period. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of WaFd by 7.4% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,225,248 shares of the bank’s stock worth $42,700,000 after purchasing an additional 84,155 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.71% of the company’s stock.

WaFd Trading Up 1.0 %

WAFD opened at $28.93 on Thursday. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $29.37 and its 200-day simple moving average is $32.88. The company has a market cap of $2.36 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.33 and a beta of 0.83. WaFd, Inc has a one year low of $25.79 and a one year 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 disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 7th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 21st were issued a dividend of $0.27 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 21st. This represents a $1.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.73%. This is a boost from WaFd’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.26. WaFd’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 49.77%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

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.