WaFd, Inc. (WAFD) To Go Ex-Dividend on May 22nd

WaFd, Inc. (NASDAQ:WAFD) declared a quarterly dividend on Tuesday, May 12th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 22nd will be paid a dividend of 0.27 per share by the bank on Friday, June 5th. This represents a c) dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.1%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 22nd.

WaFd has increased its dividend by an average of 0.0%per year over the last three years and has raised its dividend annually for the last 2 consecutive years. WaFd has a payout ratio of 35.8% indicating that its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Research analysts expect WaFd to earn $3.43 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $1.08 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 31.5%.

WaFd Stock Performance

Shares of WAFD opened at $34.87 on Wednesday. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $33.13 and a 200-day simple moving average of $32.50. The company has a quick ratio of 0.97, a current ratio of 0.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.14. The company has a market capitalization of $2.58 billion, a PE ratio of 11.40 and a beta of 0.85. WaFd has a 52-week low of $26.31 and a 52-week high of $38.59.

WaFd (NASDAQ:WAFD) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, April 17th. The bank reported $0.83 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.74 by $0.09. The business had revenue of $197.66 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $190.51 million. WaFd had a net margin of 18.25% and a return on equity of 8.94%. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.17 EPS. Equities research analysts predict that WaFd will post 3.27 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other WaFd news, EVP Kim E. Robison sold 22,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, April 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $35.28, for a total transaction of $776,160.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 116,099 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,095,972.72. This trade represents a 15.93% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Insiders own 1.49% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On WaFd

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its stake in shares of WaFd by 0.5% during the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 4,980,089 shares of the bank’s stock worth $159,514,000 after purchasing an additional 26,000 shares during the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. boosted its stake in shares of WaFd by 2.0% during the 3rd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 2,077,059 shares of the bank’s stock worth $62,914,000 after purchasing an additional 40,569 shares during the last quarter. Systematic Financial Management LP boosted its stake in shares of WaFd by 0.5% during the 4th quarter. Systematic Financial Management LP now owns 1,557,436 shares of the bank’s stock worth $49,885,000 after purchasing an additional 8,039 shares during the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. boosted its stake in shares of WaFd by 11.8% during the 3rd quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 1,375,110 shares of the bank’s stock worth $41,652,000 after purchasing an additional 145,646 shares during the last quarter. Finally, William Blair Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of WaFd by 14.3% during the 3rd quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC now owns 1,100,312 shares of the bank’s stock worth $33,328,000 after purchasing an additional 137,525 shares during the last quarter. 83.71% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About WaFd

Washington Federal, Inc, doing business as WaFd Bank, is a publicly traded bank holding company headquartered in Seattle, Washington. Through its subsidiary, WaFd Bank, the company provides a range of banking and financial services to individuals, small-to-medium enterprises, and commercial clients. Established in 1917 as Ballard Savings & Loan in Seattle, the institution expanded over decades to serve customers across the Western United States under the Washington Federal name and has operated as a public company since the early 1980s.

WaFd Bank’s core offerings encompass deposit accounts such as checking, savings, money market, and certificates of deposit, alongside consumer and commercial lending products.