Shares of bank holding company Washington Federal, Inc. (WAFD) have climbed 32% over the past 12 months. Recently, WAFD delivered a better-than-estimated performance for the first quarter on both its top-line and bottom-line fronts.
Revenue increased 13.7% year-over-year to $152.8 million, beating estimates by $4.9 million. Earnings per share at $0.71 beat expectations by $0.01. Notably, WAFD witnessed net loan growth of 5.5%, and its return on common shareholders’ equity expanded to 10.12% compared to 7.65% a year ago. Total assets stood at $20 billion at the end of Q1.
Further, WAFD has announced a quarterly dividend of $0.24 per share. The dividend is payable on February 18 to investors on record as of February 4.
With these developments in mind, let us take a look at the changes in WAFD’s key risk factors that investors should know.
Risk Factors
According to the TipRanks Risk Factors tool, Washington Federal’s top risk category is Finance & Corporate, contributing 39% to the total 31 risks identified. In its recent report, the company has added one key risk factor under the Legal & Regulatory risk category.
WAFD noted that in Q1, the Bank Secrecy Act (BSA) Consent Order issued to it by the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency was terminated. However, WAFD remains subject to instituting and maintaining an effective anti-money laundering program and filing appropriate reports.
Any failure by WAFD to maintain an effective BSA program could adversely impact its business, financials, and reputation.
Compared to a sector average of 15%, WAFD’s Legal & Regulatory risk factor is at 23%.
Hedge Fund Activity
Accordingto TipRanks data, the Wall Street’s top hedge funds have increased holdings in Washington Federal by 3.8 thousand shares in the last quarter, indicating a neutral hedge fund confidence signal in the stock based on activities of 6 hedge funds. Notably, Ray Dalio’s Bridgewater Associates has holds ~$935.26 thousand WAFD shares.
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