WaFd’s (WAFD) “Equal Weight” Rating Reaffirmed at Stephens

Stephens reaffirmed their equal weight rating on shares of WaFd (NASDAQ:WAFD) in a research report released on Friday,Benzinga reports. Stephens currently has a $38.00 target price on the bank’s stock.

A number of other analysts also recently issued reports on the company. Piper Sandler cut their price objective on WaFd from $36.00 to $35.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, October 21st. DA Davidson lifted their price target on shares of WaFd from $39.00 to $41.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, October 21st. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reaffirmed a “market perform” rating and set a $40.00 price objective on shares of WaFd in a research report on Monday, October 21st. Finally, StockNews.com raised WaFd from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 12th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $38.50.

WaFd Stock Performance

NASDAQ:WAFD opened at $30.25 on Friday. The company’s 50-day moving average is $34.38 and its two-hundred day moving average is $34.33. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.46 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.20 and a beta of 0.87. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21, a current ratio of 1.08 and a quick ratio of 1.08. WaFd has a 1-year low of $25.78 and a 1-year high of $38.62.

WaFd (NASDAQ:WAFD) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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. WaFd had a return on equity of 9.44% and a net margin of 13.97%. The company had revenue of $389.98 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $190.43 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.72 earnings per share. Analysts forecast that WaFd will post 2.82 EPS for the current year.

WaFd Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 6th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 22nd were given a dividend of $0.26 per share. This represents a $1.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.44%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 22nd. WaFd’s dividend payout ratio is presently 41.94%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other WaFd news, EVP Ryan Mauer sold 12,132 shares of the firm’s 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 transaction, the executive vice president now owns 100,376 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,345,532.08. This trade represents a 10.78 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 1.46% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On WaFd

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Blue Trust Inc. increased its stake in WaFd by 80.8% in the 3rd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,188 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $41,000 after buying an additional 531 shares during the period. McIlrath & Eck LLC increased its stake in shares of WaFd by 112.7% during the third quarter. McIlrath & Eck LLC now owns 1,323 shares of the bank’s stock worth $46,000 after acquiring an additional 701 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its holdings in WaFd by 515.8% during the third quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,558 shares of the bank’s stock worth $54,000 after purchasing an additional 1,305 shares in the last quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. lifted its position in WaFd by 100.0% in the second quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 1,644 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $47,000 after purchasing an additional 822 shares during the period. Finally, Covestor Ltd boosted its holdings in WaFd by 60.1% in the 3rd quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 1,904 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $66,000 after purchasing an additional 715 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.71% of the company’s stock.

WaFd Company Profile

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.