New York State Teachers Retirement System Adjusts Position in WaFd, Inc

The New York State Teachers Retirement System has reduced its stake in WaFd, Inc. (NASDAQ:WAFD – Free Report) by 1.1% during the third quarter, according to their latest filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). After selling 1,400 shares, the fund now owns a total of 123,464 shares in the banking company's stock, which were valued at approximately $4,303,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Alongside the activity from New York State Teachers Retirement System, other institutional investors and hedge funds have also begun to adjust their holdings in WaFd. Blue Trust Inc. increased its position by an impressive 80.8% during the third quarter, resulting in ownership of 1,188 shares worth about $41,000 after acquiring an additional 531 shares. Meanwhile, GAMMA Investing LLC significantly boosted its stake by 515.8%, raising its holdings to 1,558 shares valued at $54,000 after adding 1,305 shares to its portfolio. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. doubled its investment in WaFd during the second quarter, owning 1,644 shares now valued at $47,000 following an acquisition of 822 shares. Additionally, nVerses Capital LLC took on a new position in WaFd during the second quarter, estimated at around $80,000. SG Americas Securities LLC also entered the investment during the third quarter, acquiring a stake now worth $194,000. Overall, 83.71% of WaFd’s stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Trading Activity

In other news, executive vice president Ryan Mauer sold 12,132 shares of WaFd's stock on November 4th for an average price of $33.33, resulting in a transaction totaling approximately $404,359.56. After this sale, Mauer retains ownership of 100,376 shares, which are valued at about $3,345,532.08, indicating no change in overall position percentage. This sale has been announced in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be viewed for more details. Notably, corporate insiders own approximately 2.25% of WaFd's shares.

Performance of WaFd Stock

As of Thursday, WaFd (NASDAQ:WAFD) opened at $38.06. The company is reported to have a current ratio of 1.08 and a quick ratio of 1.09, alongside a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21. WaFd has established a market capitalization of $3.09 billion, with a price-to-earnings (P/E) ratio of 15.35 and a beta value of 0.83. The stock's 50-day moving average is $35.12, and its 200-day moving average stands at $31.93. Over the past year, WaFd reached a low of $24.66 and a high of $38.17.

WaFd recently announced its quarterly earnings on October 17th, revealing earnings per share (EPS) of $0.71, which exceeds the consensus estimate of $0.70 by $0.01. The bank recorded revenues of $389.98 million, significantly higher than analyst expectations of $190.43 million. WaFd also enjoyed a return on equity of 9.44% and a net profit margin of 13.97%. Comparatively, during the same period last year, the firm achieved an EPS of $0.72. Research analysts project that WaFd will report a full-year EPS of 2.99 for the current fiscal year.

Dividend Information

Recently, WaFd disclosed a quarterly dividend of $0.26 per share, which was paid out on September 6th to investors who were on record as of August 23rd, the same day as the ex-dividend date. This dividend payout implies an annualized amount of $1.04, leading to a yield of 2.73%. The company's dividend payout ratio currently rests at 41.94%.

Changes in Analyst Ratings

WaFd has been the subject of various research reports from analysts. For instance, Piper Sandler recently cut its price target on WaFd shares from $36.00 to $35.00 while assigning a “neutral” rating as of October 21st. Moreover, StockNews.com downgraded WaFd from a “hold” to a “sell” rating on October 3rd. In contrast, DA Davidson raised its price target from $39.00 to $41.00 and designated the stock as a “buy” in a report on October 21st. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reiterated a “market perform” rating with a price target of $40.00, and Stephens adjusted their target price from $32.00 to $36.00, classifying it as “equal weight” on July 18th. From the analysis, one analyst has rated WaFd as a “sell”, three have a “hold” rating, and one has issued a “buy” rating. The consensus rating for WaFd is classified as “Hold” with an average price target of $38.00.

About WaFd, Inc

WaFd, Inc serves as the bank holding company for Washington Federal Bank, providing a range of banking services including lending and deposit products such as personal and business checking accounts, certificates of deposit, money market accounts, and savings accounts.

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