Washington Federal Raises Dividend, Expands Buybacks
Regional banking concern Washington Federalannounced yesterday its third-quarter dividend of $0.10 per share, an 11% increase from the payout made to investors last quarter of $0.09 per share. The board of directors said the quarterly dividend is payable on Oct. 18 to the holders of record at the close of business on Oct. 4.
The board also said it was authorizing the buyback of 10 million more shares under its existing share-repurchase authorization. So far in its current fiscal year, the bank has bought back 6 million shares, or 5.7%, of the stock that was outstanding at the beginning of the year, at an average price of $17.33.
Noting the actions represented confidence in the bank's future, Washington Federal Chairman, President, and CEO Roy M. Whitehead said, "Given current market conditions, we expect to continue to actively repurchase shares."
The regular dividend payment equates to a $0.40-per-share annual dividend, yielding 2% based on the closing price today of Washington Federal's stock.
WAFD Dividend data by YCharts
The article Washington Federal Raises Dividend, Expands Buybacks originally appeared on Fool.com.
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