WaFd (NASDAQ:WAFD) CEO Buys $50,550.00 in Stock

WaFd, Inc. (NASDAQ:WAFD) CEO Brent Beardall purchased 3,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, December 3rd. The stock was bought at an average price of $16.85 per share, for a total transaction of $50,550.00. Following the purchase, the chief executive officer owned 6,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $101,100. This represents a 100.00% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink.

WaFd Price Performance

Shares of WaFd stock traded up $0.35 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $32.14. 539,265 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 568,657. WaFd, Inc. has a 52-week low of $23.75 and a 52-week high of $36.65. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64, a current ratio of 0.96 and a quick ratio of 0.96. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $30.13 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $30.05. The company has a market capitalization of $2.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.17 and a beta of 0.87.

WaFd (NASDAQ:WAFD) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 28th. The bank reported $0.72 EPS for the quarter. WaFd had a return on equity of 8.40% and a net margin of 16.02%.The company had revenue of $187.62 million during the quarter. Sell-side analysts expect that WaFd, Inc. will post 2.56 EPS for the current year.

WaFd Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 5th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 21st will be given a dividend of $0.27 per share. This represents a $1.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.4%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 21st. WaFd’s payout ratio is 40.91%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On WaFd

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Brooklyn Investment Group purchased a new stake in shares of WaFd during the 1st quarter valued at $28,000. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. increased its position in WaFd by 42.8% during the 2nd quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 1,174 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $34,000 after buying an additional 352 shares in the last quarter. McIlrath & Eck LLC raised its stake in WaFd by 57.6% in the second quarter. McIlrath & Eck LLC now owns 1,327 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $39,000 after buying an additional 485 shares during the last quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. boosted its holdings in WaFd by 604.5% in the third quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 1,423 shares of the bank’s stock worth $43,000 after acquiring an additional 1,221 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Danske Bank A S acquired a new stake in WaFd in the third quarter worth about $51,000. 83.71% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have commented on WAFD shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their price objective on WaFd from $32.00 to $31.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, October 20th. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of WaFd in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered shares of WaFd from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Saturday, October 18th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating, According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $32.00.

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.