Washington Federal Hikes Dividend - Analyst Blog
March 27 2013 - 8:30AM
Zacks
On Mar 25, 2013, Washington Federal, Inc.
(WAFD) announced a 12.5% hike in its quarterly cash dividend to 9
cents per share. The new dividend will be paid on Apr 19, 2013 to
stockholders of record as of Apr 5, 2013.
This represents Washington Federal’s 121st successive quarterly
cash dividend. Prior to this, Washington Federal had
increased its quarterly cash dividend in Dec 2011. At that
time, the dividend was raised by 33% to 8 cents per share.
Previous to this, Washington Federal had hiked its quarterly cash
dividend by 20% to 6 cents per share in Dec 2010.
Furthermore, Washington Federal has been quite active in boosting
shareholder wealth through share repurchases from time to
time. During the quarter ended Dec 31, 2012, Washington
Federal repurchased 2,696,014 shares at an average price of $16.60
per share. The company still has authorization to repurchase upto
an additional 3,492,016 shares.
This reflects Washington Federal’s ability to consistently deploy
capital to enhance shareholder value. Further, these
activities reflect the company’s solid capital and financial
position, which will auger well in the backdrop of a sluggish
economic growth.
Similar to Washington Federal, other firms that have recently hiked
dividend include Fifth Third Bancorp (FITB),
Wells Fargo & Company (WFC) and State
Street Corporation (STT). Fifth Third hiked its dividend
by 10% to 11 cents per share following the approval of its capital
plan under the 2013 CCAR (Comprehensive Capital Analysis &
Review) by the Federal Reserve.
Alongside, Wells Fargo increased its quarterly common stock
dividend by 14% to 25 cents per share. On the other hand, State
Street hiked its quarterly cash dividend by 8.3% to 26 cents per
share following the company’s clearance of the Federal Reserve’s
stress test.
Washington Federal currently retains a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold).
FIFTH THIRD BK (FITB): Free Stock Analysis Report
STATE ST CORP (STT): Free Stock Analysis Report
WASH FEDL INC (WAFD): Free Stock Analysis Report
WELLS FARGO-NEW (WFC): Free Stock Analysis Report
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