WaFd, Inc (WAFD) To Go Ex-Dividend on May 23rd

WaFd, Inc (NASDAQ:WAFD) declared a quarterly dividend on Tuesday, May 13th, Wall Street Journal reports. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 23rd will be paid a dividend of 0.27 per share by the bank on Friday, June 6th. This represents a $1.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.63%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 23rd.

WaFd has increased its dividend payment by an average of 4.2% per year over the last three years and has increased its dividend annually for the last 2 consecutive years. WaFd has a dividend payout ratio of 35.8% meaning its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Analysts expect WaFd to earn $2.91 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $1.08 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 37.1%.

WaFd Price Performance

WAFD stock opened at $29.76 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.05, a current ratio of 1.04 and a quick ratio of 1.04. WaFd has a 1 year low of $23.75 and a 1 year high of $38.62. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $28.04 and a 200 day moving average of $30.91. The company has a market cap of $2.39 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.71 and a beta of 0.85.

WaFd (NASDAQ:WAFD) last announced its earnings results on Friday, April 11th. The bank reported $0.65 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.60 by $0.05. WaFd had a net margin of 12.66% and a return on equity of 8.78%. The firm had revenue of $179.79 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $184.17 million. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that WaFd will post 2.56 EPS for the current year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have issued reports on the company. Piper Sandler lowered their price objective on WaFd from $37.00 to $31.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their price target on shares of WaFd from $32.00 to $30.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 16th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of WaFd from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, April 12th. DA Davidson downgraded shares of WaFd from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and dropped their target price for the stock from $35.00 to $32.00 in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, Stephens restated an “equal weight” rating and issued a $29.00 price objective on shares of WaFd in a report on Monday, April 14th. Five research 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 $30.50.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On WaFd

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Jane Street Group LLC increased its holdings in shares of WaFd by 862.6% in the 1st quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 69,306 shares of the bank’s stock worth $1,981,000 after buying an additional 62,106 shares during the last quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC raised its stake in shares of WaFd by 9.2% during the first quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 246,467 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $7,044,000 after acquiring an additional 20,865 shares in the last quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. raised its position in WaFd by 26.6% during the 1st quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 48,094 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $1,375,000 after purchasing an additional 10,092 shares in the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of WaFd by 271.2% in the 1st quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 30,794 shares of the bank’s stock worth $867,000 after buying an additional 22,499 shares during the period. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada grew its position in shares of WaFd by 14.5% during the 1st quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 22,011 shares of the bank’s stock worth $629,000 after buying an additional 2,783 shares in the last quarter. 83.71% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

About WaFd

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.