AlphaQuest LLC Has $887,000 Holdings in WaFd, Inc. $WAFD

AlphaQuest LLC increased its holdings in shares of WaFd, Inc. (NASDAQ:WAFD) by 4,304.4% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 29,289 shares of the bank’s stock after acquiring an additional 28,624 shares during the period. AlphaQuest LLC’s holdings in WaFd were worth $887,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd increased its stake in shares of WaFd by 546.8% in the third quarter. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd now owns 61,036 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $1,849,000 after buying an additional 51,600 shares in the last quarter. AlphaCore Capital LLC grew its holdings in WaFd by 99.9% during the 2nd quarter. AlphaCore Capital LLC now owns 33,571 shares of the bank’s stock worth $983,000 after acquiring an additional 16,780 shares during the last quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership bought a new stake in WaFd during the 2nd quarter worth about $7,666,000. Versor Investments LP acquired a new stake in WaFd in the 2nd quarter valued at about $293,000. Finally, Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of WaFd in the second quarter worth about $2,052,000. 83.71% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

WAFD has been the subject of a number of research reports. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of WaFd in a report on Monday, December 29th. Royal Bank Of Canada set a $34.00 target price on WaFd in a research note on Tuesday, January 20th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their target price on WaFd from $31.00 to $34.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 20th. Piper Sandler decreased their price target on WaFd from $33.50 to $30.50 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 20th. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered WaFd from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Saturday. Five analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating, According to MarketBeat.com, WaFd presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $32.90.

Insider Transactions at WaFd

In related news, CEO Brent J. Beardall bought 3,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, December 3rd. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $16.85 per share, for a total transaction of $50,550.00. Following the acquisition, the chief executive officer owned 6,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $101,100. This represents a 100.00% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders own 1.49% of the company’s stock.

WaFd Stock Up 1.4%

Shares of WaFd stock opened at $33.07 on Tuesday. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $32.60 and a 200 day simple moving average of $31.10. The stock has a market cap of $2.53 billion, a PE ratio of 11.44 and a beta of 0.86. The company has a quick ratio of 0.96, a current ratio of 0.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89. WaFd, Inc. has a 12 month low of $23.75 and a 12 month high of $33.92.

WaFd (NASDAQ:WAFD) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 16th. The bank reported $0.75 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.76 by ($0.01). The firm had revenue of $188.32 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $193.36 million. WaFd had a net margin of 17.45% and a return on equity of 8.67%. Research analysts predict that WaFd, Inc. will post 2.56 EPS for the current year.

WaFd Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 5th. Investors of record on Friday, November 21st were given a $0.27 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 21st. This represents a $1.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.3%. WaFd’s payout ratio is currently 37.37%.

WaFd Profile

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.