Washington Federal, Inc. (NASDAQ:WAFD) Shares Sold by Lazard Asset Management LLC

Lazard Asset Management LLC decreased its holdings in shares of Washington Federal, Inc. (NASDAQ:WAFD – Get Rating) by 99.3% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 3,787 shares of the bank’s stock after selling 563,133 shares during the quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Washington Federal were worth $113,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in WAFD. Texas Permanent School Fund boosted its holdings in Washington Federal by 2.1% in the second quarter. Texas Permanent School Fund now owns 47,203 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $1,417,000 after acquiring an additional 962 shares during the last quarter. Rafferty Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in Washington Federal in the second quarter valued at $693,000. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. boosted its holdings in Washington Federal by 2.9% in the third quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. now owns 299,242 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $8,972,000 after acquiring an additional 8,478 shares during the last quarter. Great West Life Assurance Co. Can boosted its holdings in Washington Federal by 4.2% in the third quarter. Great West Life Assurance Co. Can now owns 43,340 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $1,299,000 after acquiring an additional 1,762 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC boosted its holdings in Washington Federal by 73.8% in the third quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 2,417 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $72,000 after acquiring an additional 1,026 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.35% of the company’s stock.

Washington Federal Stock Down 0.5 %

Shares of NASDAQ WAFD opened at $34.45 on Monday. Washington Federal, Inc. has a 1 year low of $29.46 and a 1 year high of $39.17. The firm has a market cap of $2.25 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.97 and a beta of 0.85. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.52, a quick ratio of 1.09 and a current ratio of 1.09. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $34.92 and its 200-day simple moving average is $34.29.

Washington Federal (NASDAQ:WAFD – Get Rating) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, January 12th. The bank reported $1.16 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.11 by $0.05. Washington Federal had a return on equity of 13.60% and a net margin of 32.70%. The business had revenue of $196.82 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $194.50 million. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Washington Federal, Inc. will post 4.43 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Washington Federal Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 24th will be given a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.90%. This is a positive change from Washington Federal’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.24. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, February 23rd. Washington Federal’s payout ratio is presently 26.04%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on WAFD. DA Davidson lifted their target price on Washington Federal from $43.00 to $45.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 17th. StockNews.com cut Washington Federal from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 21st. Finally, Piper Sandler boosted their price objective on Washington Federal from $36.00 to $37.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 17th.

Insider Transactions at Washington Federal

In other news, EVP Cathy E. Cooper sold 15,000 shares of Washington Federal stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $34.25, for a total transaction of $513,750.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 61,106 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,092,880.50. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In related news, EVP Kim E. Robison sold 7,148 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $34.00, for a total value of $243,032.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 56,344 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,915,696. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Cathy E. Cooper sold 15,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $34.25, for a total value of $513,750.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 61,106 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,092,880.50. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 1.46% of the company’s stock.

About Washington Federal

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Washington Federal, Inc engages in the provision of lending, depository, insurance, and other banking services to consumers. It operates under the Commercial Loans and Consumer Loans segments. The Commercial Loans segment is disaggregated into five classes: multi-family, commercial real estate, commercial and industrial, construction, and land acquisition and development.