WaFd, Inc (NASDAQ:WAFD) Shares Purchased by American Century Companies Inc.

American Century Companies Inc. boosted its stake in shares of WaFd, Inc (NASDAQ:WAFD) by 15.3% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 1,774,081 shares of the bank’s stock after acquiring an additional 234,977 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. owned about 2.18% of WaFd worth $57,196,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. McIlrath & Eck LLC lifted its position in shares of WaFd by 112.7% in the third quarter. McIlrath & Eck LLC now owns 1,323 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $46,000 after acquiring an additional 701 shares in the last quarter. Harbour Investments Inc. raised its stake in WaFd by 29.6% in the 4th quarter. Harbour Investments Inc. now owns 1,752 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $56,000 after purchasing an additional 400 shares during the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. lifted its holdings in WaFd by 68.4% in the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 2,000 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $70,000 after purchasing an additional 812 shares in the last quarter. US Bancorp DE boosted its stake in WaFd by 136.7% during the 4th quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 3,638 shares of the bank’s stock worth $117,000 after purchasing an additional 2,101 shares during the last quarter. Finally, KBC Group NV grew its holdings 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 buying an additional 965 shares in the last quarter. 83.71% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

WaFd Stock Up 1.0 %

WAFD stock opened at $28.93 on Thursday. WaFd, Inc has a one year low of $25.79 and a one year high of $38.62. The firm has a market cap of $2.36 billion, a PE ratio of 13.33 and a beta of 0.83. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $29.37 and its 200-day moving average price is $32.88. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.05, a quick ratio of 1.04 and a current ratio of 1.04.

WaFd Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 7th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 21st were paid a $0.27 dividend. This represents a $1.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.73%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 21st. This is a positive change from WaFd’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.26. WaFd’s dividend payout ratio is 49.77%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

WAFD has been the topic of several research reports. DA Davidson downgraded shares of WaFd from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and decreased their price target for the stock from $35.00 to $32.00 in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. StockNews.com upgraded WaFd from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, March 6th. Piper Sandler cut their price target on WaFd from $37.00 to $31.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their price objective on WaFd from $42.00 to $34.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. Finally, Stephens reaffirmed an “equal weight” rating and issued a $38.00 target price on shares of WaFd in a research note on Friday, January 17th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently 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.