Clearbridge Investments LLC Has $19.07 Million Position in WaFd, Inc (NASDAQ:WAFD)

Clearbridge Investments LLC trimmed its stake in WaFd, Inc (NASDAQ:WAFD) by 0.3% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 591,427 shares of the bank’s stock after selling 1,495 shares during the quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC’s holdings in WaFd were worth $19,068,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of WAFD. McIlrath & Eck LLC grew its stake in shares of WaFd by 112.7% in the 3rd quarter. McIlrath & Eck LLC now owns 1,323 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $46,000 after buying an additional 701 shares during the period. Harbour Investments Inc. boosted its holdings in WaFd by 29.6% in the fourth quarter. Harbour Investments Inc. now owns 1,752 shares of the bank’s stock worth $56,000 after acquiring an additional 400 shares in the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. grew its stake in WaFd by 68.4% in the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 2,000 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $70,000 after acquiring an additional 812 shares during the period. US Bancorp DE increased its holdings in shares of WaFd by 136.7% during the fourth quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 3,638 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $117,000 after acquiring an additional 2,101 shares in the last quarter. Finally, KBC Group NV raised its position in shares of WaFd by 34.5% during the fourth quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 3,762 shares of the bank’s stock worth $121,000 after purchasing an additional 965 shares during the period. 83.71% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

WaFd Stock Up 1.9 %

WaFd stock opened at $28.75 on Thursday. WaFd, Inc has a fifty-two week low of $25.79 and a fifty-two week high of $38.62. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.05, a quick ratio of 1.04 and a current ratio of 1.04. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $29.21 and its 200 day simple moving average is $32.64. The stock has a market cap of $2.34 billion, a PE ratio of 13.25 and a beta of 0.83.

WaFd Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 7th. Investors of record on Friday, February 21st were given a dividend of $0.27 per share. This represents a $1.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.76%. This is an increase from WaFd’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.26. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 21st. WaFd’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 49.77%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have commented on WAFD. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their price target on shares of WaFd from $42.00 to $34.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. Stephens reiterated an “equal weight” rating and set a $38.00 price objective on shares of WaFd in a report on Friday, January 17th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of WaFd from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, March 6th. DA Davidson downgraded WaFd from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and cut their price target for the company from $35.00 to $32.00 in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, 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. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $33.75.

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.