Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH Takes $2.16 Million Position in WaFd, Inc (NASDAQ:WAFD)

Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH bought a new stake in shares of WaFd, Inc (NASDAQ:WAFD) in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund bought 67,100 shares of the bank’s stock, valued at approximately $2,163,000.

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC grew its stake in shares of WaFd by 42.8% during the fourth quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 225,602 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $7,273,000 after acquiring an additional 67,640 shares in the last quarter. Systematic Financial Management LP grew its stake in shares of WaFd by 5.2% during the fourth quarter. Systematic Financial Management LP now owns 1,506,368 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $48,565,000 after acquiring an additional 73,845 shares in the last quarter. Rafferty Asset Management LLC grew its stake in WaFd by 18.7% in the fourth quarter. Rafferty Asset Management LLC now owns 107,324 shares of the bank’s stock worth $3,460,000 after purchasing an additional 16,942 shares in the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC acquired a new position in WaFd in the fourth quarter worth about $950,000. Finally, MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. grew its stake in WaFd by 4.0% in the fourth quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 38,002 shares of the bank’s stock worth $1,225,000 after purchasing an additional 1,454 shares in the last quarter. 83.71% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

WaFd Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ WAFD opened at $28.34 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.04, a current ratio of 1.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.05. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $28.07 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $30.37. WaFd, Inc has a 52-week low of $23.75 and a 52-week high of $38.62. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.27 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.06 and a beta of 0.85.

WaFd (NASDAQ:WAFD) last issued its earnings results on Friday, April 11th. The bank reported $0.65 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.60 by $0.05. WaFd had a net margin of 12.66% and a return on equity of 8.78%. The firm had revenue of $179.79 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $184.17 million. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that WaFd, Inc will post 2.56 earnings per share for the current year.

WaFd Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 6th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 23rd will be issued a $0.27 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 23rd. This represents a $1.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.81%. WaFd’s dividend payout ratio is currently 40.75%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

WAFD has been the subject of a number of research reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their price target on WaFd from $32.00 to $30.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 16th. DA Davidson downgraded 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. Stephens reiterated an “equal weight” rating and issued a $29.00 price target on shares of WaFd in a research note on Monday, April 14th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded WaFd from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, April 12th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $30.50.

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.