WaFd, Inc. $WAFD Shares Sold by UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC

UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC reduced its holdings in shares of WaFd, Inc. (NASDAQ:WAFD) by 17.9% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 141,040 shares of the bank’s stock after selling 30,725 shares during the period. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC owned about 0.19% of WaFd worth $5,412,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund grew its stake in shares of WaFd by 1.7% in the fourth quarter. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund now owns 18,056 shares of the bank’s stock worth $578,000 after acquiring an additional 300 shares in the last quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of WaFd by 2.0% in the fourth quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 15,162 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $486,000 after acquiring an additional 304 shares in the last quarter. Baron Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in WaFd by 3.8% in the first quarter. Baron Wealth Management LLC now owns 8,720 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $274,000 after purchasing an additional 323 shares during the period. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. grew its stake in WaFd by 42.8% during the 2nd quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 1,174 shares of the bank’s stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 352 shares in the last quarter. Finally, MML Investors Services LLC grew its stake in WaFd by 2.6% during the 4th quarter. MML Investors Services LLC now owns 15,227 shares of the bank’s stock worth $488,000 after purchasing an additional 391 shares in the last quarter. 83.71% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have issued reports on WAFD. Weiss Ratings lowered WaFd from a “buy (b)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research report on Thursday, September 3rd. DA Davidson upped their target price on shares of WaFd from $38.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, July 20th. Finally, Zacks Research cut shares of WaFd from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, June 22nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $37.00.

WaFd Trading Down 5.6%

NASDAQ:WAFD opened at $34.28 on Wednesday. WaFd, Inc. has a 1 year low of $26.31 and a 1 year high of $39.49. The stock has a market cap of $2.54 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.81 and a beta of 0.83. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.20, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a current ratio of 0.98. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $37.11 and a 200-day simple moving average of $35.10.

WaFd (NASDAQ:WAFD) last issued its earnings results on Friday, July 17th. The bank reported $0.81 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.82 by ($0.01). The business had revenue of $205.52 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $199.56 million. WaFd had a return on equity of 8.98% and a net margin of 18.47%. As a group, analysts anticipate that WaFd, Inc. will post 3.23 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

WaFd Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 4th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 21st were given a dividend of $0.27 per share. This represents a $1.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.2%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 21st. WaFd’s payout ratio is currently 34.07%.

WaFd News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting WaFd this week:

• Positive Sentiment: The transaction is projected to generate approximately 29% earnings-per-share accretion in 2027. Management expects the combination to expand WaFd’s deposit base, diversify its commercial banking operations, and improve earnings scale. WaFd’s EverBank Merger Deal: A Boost to Earnings & Scale?
• Positive Sentiment: The combined institution is expected to have roughly $75 billion in assets, creating a larger regional bank with broader geographic reach. The deal pairs EverBank’s digital capabilities with WaFd’s established branch network, potentially improving customer acquisition and retention. EverBank-WaFd Deal Bridges Banking’s Digital and Branch Divide
• Neutral Sentiment: WaFd and EverBank discussed the strategic rationale and expected scale benefits on an M&A call. WaFd shareholders are expected to own approximately 40.8% of the combined company, making deal terms and integration execution important factors for investors. WaFd, Inc. M&A Call Transcript
• Negative Sentiment: Two investor-rights law firms announced investigations into whether WaFd shareholders are receiving a fair price and whether the merger process adequately protects them. The investigations add legal and transaction uncertainty and may pressure sentiment until the deal advances. Halper Sadeh Investigation M&A Class Action Firm Investigation

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.