Principal Financial Group Inc. Has $14.93 Million Stock Holdings in WaFd, Inc (NASDAQ:WAFD)

Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its holdings in WaFd, Inc (NASDAQ:WAFD) by 28.6% in the third quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 428,504 shares of the bank’s stock after buying an additional 95,251 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in WaFd were worth $14,933,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. bought a new stake in shares of WaFd in the 3rd quarter valued at about $18,583,000. American Century Companies Inc. lifted its stake in shares of WaFd by 31.6% in the second quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 1,274,665 shares of the bank’s stock worth $36,430,000 after acquiring an additional 305,942 shares during the period. Systematic Financial Management LP boosted its holdings in WaFd by 21.5% in the third quarter. Systematic Financial Management LP now owns 1,432,523 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $49,923,000 after acquiring an additional 253,044 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp increased its position 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 purchasing an additional 195,845 shares during the period. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of WaFd by 10.0% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,759,135 shares of the bank’s stock worth $61,318,000 after purchasing an additional 159,750 shares during the period. 83.71% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

WaFd Trading Down 1.4 %

WAFD opened at $32.61 on Friday. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $35.26 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $33.83. WaFd, Inc has a 1-year low of $25.78 and a 1-year high of $38.62. The company has a market cap of $2.65 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.15 and a beta of 0.84. The company has a current ratio of 1.08, a quick ratio of 1.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21.

WaFd (NASDAQ:WAFD) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, October 17th. The bank reported $0.71 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.70 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $389.98 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $190.43 million. WaFd had a return on equity of 9.44% and a net margin of 13.97%. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.72 EPS. Analysts predict that WaFd, Inc will post 2.82 EPS for the current fiscal year.

WaFd Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 6th. Investors of record on Friday, November 22nd were issued a $0.26 dividend. This represents a $1.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.19%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 22nd. WaFd’s dividend payout ratio is currently 41.94%.

Insider Activity at WaFd

In other news, EVP Ryan Mauer sold 12,132 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $33.33, for a total value of $404,359.56. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 100,376 shares in the company, valued at $3,345,532.08. This trade represents a 10.78 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 2.25% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on WAFD shares. Piper Sandler decreased their price objective on shares of WaFd from $36.00 to $35.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, October 21st. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reiterated a “market perform” rating and set a $40.00 price target on shares of WaFd in a report on Monday, October 21st. DA Davidson boosted their price objective on WaFd from $39.00 to $41.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, October 21st. Finally, StockNews.com raised WaFd from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 12th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, WaFd currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $38.00.

WaFd 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.