Brokerages Set WaFd, Inc. (NASDAQ:WAFD) PT at $32.90

WaFd, Inc. (NASDAQ:WAFD) has received an average rating of “Hold” from the five ratings firms that are covering the company, MarketBeat.com reports. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation. The average 12 month target price among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $32.90.

Several equities research analysts have commented on the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their target price on shares of WaFd from $31.00 to $34.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 20th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of WaFd from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Sunday. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of WaFd in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Royal Bank Of Canada set a $34.00 target price on WaFd in a report on Tuesday, January 20th. Finally, Piper Sandler lowered their price target on WaFd from $33.50 to $30.50 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 20th.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Brent J. Beardall purchased 3,000 shares of WaFd stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, December 3rd. The stock was bought at an average price 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 acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Cathy E. Cooper sold 5,300 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $33.77, for a total transaction of $178,981.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 94,755 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,199,876.35. The trade was a 5.30% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders own 1.49% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of WAFD. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. grew its holdings in shares of WaFd by 42.8% during the second quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 1,174 shares of the bank’s stock worth $34,000 after buying an additional 352 shares in the last quarter. McIlrath & Eck LLC grew its stake in shares of WaFd by 57.6% during the 2nd quarter. McIlrath & Eck LLC now owns 1,327 shares of the bank’s stock worth $39,000 after acquiring an additional 485 shares in the last quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. raised its holdings in shares of WaFd by 604.5% in the third quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 1,423 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $43,000 after purchasing an additional 1,221 shares during the last quarter. Danske Bank A S bought a new position in WaFd in the third quarter valued at $51,000. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. increased its stake in WaFd by 36.0% in the 3rd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,837 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $56,000 after buying an additional 486 shares during the last quarter. 83.71% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

WaFd Trading Down 0.2%

NASDAQ:WAFD opened at $32.98 on Thursday. WaFd has a 1-year low of $23.75 and a 1-year high of $34.29. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $32.78 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $31.26. The company has a current ratio of 0.95, a quick ratio of 0.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.50 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.41 and a beta of 0.86.

WaFd (NASDAQ:WAFD) last posted its earnings results on Friday, January 16th. The bank reported $0.75 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.76 by ($0.01). The company had revenue of $188.32 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $193.36 million. WaFd had a return on equity of 8.67% and a net margin of 17.45%. On average, equities analysts expect that WaFd will post 2.56 earnings per share for the current year.

WaFd Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 27th. Investors of record on Friday, February 13th will be paid a dividend of $0.27 per share. This represents a $1.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 13th. WaFd’s dividend payout ratio is presently 37.37%.

About WaFd

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.