WaFd (NASDAQ:WAFD) Stock Rating Upgraded by Wall Street Zen

WaFd (NASDAQ:WAFD) was upgraded by equities research analysts at Wall Street Zen from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note issued on Saturday.

Several other analysts have also weighed in on the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their price objective on shares of WaFd from $32.00 to $31.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, October 20th. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of WaFd in a report on Monday, December 29th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating, Based on data from MarketBeat.com, WaFd has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $32.00.

WaFd Stock Performance

WAFD stock opened at $32.39 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $2.48 billion, a PE ratio of 11.21 and a beta of 0.86. The company has a current ratio of 0.96, a quick ratio of 0.96 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $32.28 and a 200-day moving average price of $30.97. WaFd has a 1-year low of $23.75 and a 1-year high of $33.92.

WaFd (NASDAQ:WAFD) last released its earnings results on Thursday, January 15th. The bank reported $0.75 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.76 by ($0.01). The business had revenue of $191.37 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $193.36 million. WaFd had a return on equity of 8.40% and a net margin of 16.02%. As a group, equities research analysts expect that WaFd will post 2.56 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other WaFd news, CEO Brent J. Beardall acquired 3,000 shares of WaFd stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, December 3rd. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $16.85 per share, for a total transaction of $50,550.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chief executive officer directly owned 6,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $101,100. This represents a 100.00% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 1.49% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On WaFd

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. American Century Companies Inc. grew its holdings in shares of WaFd by 2.0% in the third quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 2,077,059 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $62,914,000 after acquiring an additional 40,569 shares in the last quarter. Systematic Financial Management LP boosted its position in WaFd by 0.7% in the second quarter. Systematic Financial Management LP now owns 1,541,973 shares of the bank’s stock worth $45,149,000 after purchasing an additional 10,646 shares during the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. grew its stake in WaFd by 11.8% in the 3rd quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 1,375,110 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $41,652,000 after purchasing an additional 145,646 shares during the period. William Blair Investment Management LLC increased its position in shares of WaFd by 14.3% during the 3rd quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC now owns 1,100,312 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $33,328,000 after purchasing an additional 137,525 shares during the last quarter. Finally, First Trust Advisors LP increased its position in shares of WaFd by 6.3% during the 3rd quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 698,303 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $21,152,000 after purchasing an additional 41,598 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.71% of the company’s stock.

WaFd Company Profile

Washington Federal, Inc, doing business as WaFd Bank, is a publicly traded bank holding company headquartered in Seattle, Washington. Through its subsidiary, WaFd Bank, the company provides a range of banking and financial services to individuals, small-to-medium enterprises, and commercial clients. Established in 1917 as Ballard Savings & Loan in Seattle, the institution expanded over decades to serve customers across the Western United States under the Washington Federal name and has operated as a public company since the early 1980s.

WaFd Bank’s core offerings encompass deposit accounts such as checking, savings, money market, and certificates of deposit, alongside consumer and commercial lending products.