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

WaFd, Inc (NASDAQ:WAFD) declared a quarterly dividend on Tuesday, November 12th,Wall Street Journal reports. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 22nd will be given a dividend of 0.26 per share by the bank on Friday, December 6th. This represents a $1.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.89%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 22nd.

WaFd has increased its dividend payment by an average of 4.4% annually over the last three years and has raised its dividend annually for the last 14 consecutive years. WaFd has a payout ratio of 36.6% indicating that its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Equities research analysts expect WaFd to earn $3.23 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $1.04 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 32.2%.

WaFd Price Performance

WAFD opened at $35.95 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.92 billion, a PE ratio of 14.50 and a beta of 0.83. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $35.25 and its 200-day moving average price is $32.47. WaFd has a 52-week low of $25.78 and a 52-week high of $38.58. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21, a quick ratio of 1.09 and a current ratio of 1.08.

WaFd (NASDAQ:WAFD) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 17th. The bank reported $0.71 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.70 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $389.98 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $190.43 million. WaFd had a return on equity of 9.44% and a net margin of 13.97%. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.72 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts predict that WaFd will post 2.82 EPS for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on WAFD shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reaffirmed a “market perform” rating and issued a $40.00 price target on shares of WaFd in a research note on Monday, October 21st. StockNews.com raised WaFd from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 12th. Piper Sandler lowered their target price on WaFd from $36.00 to $35.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, October 21st. Finally, DA Davidson upped their price target on WaFd from $39.00 to $41.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, October 21st. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, WaFd presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $38.00.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Ryan Mauer sold 12,132 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $33.33, for a total transaction of $404,359.56. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 100,376 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,345,532.08. This trade represents a 10.78 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 2.25% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.