Systematic Financial Management LP Decreases Holdings in WaFd, Inc. $WAFD

Systematic Financial Management LP decreased its position in WaFd, Inc. (NASDAQ:WAFD) by 1.2% in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 1,538,351 shares of the bank’s stock after selling 19,085 shares during the quarter. WaFd accounts for 1.1% of Systematic Financial Management LP’s portfolio, making the stock its 18th largest position. Systematic Financial Management LP owned about 2.08% of WaFd worth $48,304,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of WAFD. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System acquired a new position in shares of WaFd during the 1st quarter valued at about $1,055,000. Tudor Investment Corp ET AL purchased a new position in shares of WaFd during the 3rd quarter worth about $1,387,000. Fifth Third Bancorp boosted its position in shares of WaFd by 75,681.1% in the first quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 71,992 shares of the bank’s stock worth $2,261,000 after acquiring an additional 71,897 shares during the last quarter. Bridgeway Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of WaFd by 8.8% in the fourth quarter. Bridgeway Capital Management LLC now owns 525,351 shares of the bank’s stock worth $16,827,000 after acquiring an additional 42,536 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bessemer Group Inc. grew its holdings in WaFd by 37.9% in the first quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 191,044 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $5,999,000 after purchasing an additional 52,500 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.71% of the company’s stock.

WaFd Stock Down 0.1%

Shares of NASDAQ:WAFD opened at $36.72 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.20, a quick ratio of 0.97 and a current ratio of 0.98. WaFd, Inc. has a 1 year low of $26.31 and a 1 year high of $39.49. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.71 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.58 and a beta of 0.83. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $36.74 and a 200-day simple moving average of $34.19.

WaFd (NASDAQ:WAFD) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 16th. The bank reported $0.81 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.82 by ($0.01). WaFd had a net margin of 18.47% and a return on equity of 8.98%. The business had revenue of $205.52 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $199.56 million. Equities analysts forecast that WaFd, Inc. will post 3.21 earnings per share for the current year.

WaFd Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 5th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 22nd were given a $0.27 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 22nd. This represents a $1.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.9%. WaFd’s dividend payout ratio is presently 34.07%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts recently commented on WAFD shares. Weiss Ratings raised shares of WaFd from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research report on Friday, May 22nd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price target on shares of WaFd from $35.00 to $38.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Monday, April 20th. DA Davidson boosted their price objective on shares of WaFd from $38.00 to $40.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday. Zacks Research downgraded WaFd from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, June 22nd. Finally, Piper Sandler increased their target price on WaFd from $30.50 to $36.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, April 20th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $37.00.

WaFd Company 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.