Louisiana State Employees Retirement System Invests $1.07 Million in WaFd, Inc (NASDAQ:WAFD)

Louisiana State Employees Retirement System purchased a new position in WaFd, Inc (NASDAQ:WAFD) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm purchased 32,400 shares of the bank’s stock, valued at approximately $1,068,000. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System owned approximately 0.05% of WaFd at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of WAFD. Lakeside Advisors INC. lifted its stake in shares of WaFd by 6.7% in the third quarter. Lakeside Advisors INC. now owns 8,718 shares of the bank’s stock worth $223,000 after buying an additional 546 shares in the last quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC lifted its stake in shares of WaFd by 28.6% in the third quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 25,099 shares of the bank’s stock worth $643,000 after buying an additional 5,580 shares in the last quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank lifted its stake in shares of WaFd by 23.8% in the third quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 11,616 shares of the bank’s stock worth $298,000 after buying an additional 2,230 shares in the last quarter. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of WaFd by 10.5% in the third quarter. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. now owns 8,961 shares of the bank’s stock worth $230,000 after buying an additional 853 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Panagora Asset Management Inc. purchased a new position in WaFd during the third quarter worth about $3,732,000. 83.71% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

WAFD has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. StockNews.com downgraded shares of WaFd from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 21st. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their target price on shares of WaFd from $37.00 to $35.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 18th. Stephens reaffirmed an “equal weight” rating and set a $32.00 target price on shares of WaFd in a research note on Tuesday. Finally, DA Davidson reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $35.00 target price on shares of WaFd in a research note on Thursday, April 11th.

WaFd Price Performance

WaFd stock opened at $28.59 on Wednesday. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $27.77 and its 200-day simple moving average is $28.32. The company has a market capitalization of $1.85 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.38 and a beta of 0.85. WaFd, Inc has a 1 year low of $23.36 and a 1 year high of $34.07. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.80, a quick ratio of 1.15 and a current ratio of 1.15.

WaFd Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 8th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 23rd were paid a $0.26 dividend. This represents a $1.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.64%. This is an increase from WaFd’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 22nd. WaFd’s payout ratio is 30.50%.

About WaFd

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.