WaFd, Inc. (NASDAQ:WAFD) Receives Consensus Recommendation of “Hold” from Analysts

WaFd, Inc. (NASDAQ:WAFD) has earned an average recommendation of “Hold” from the five analysts that are currently covering the firm, Marketbeat.com reports. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation. The average 1 year price target among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $32.90.

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Piper Sandler lowered their price target on shares of WaFd from $33.50 to $30.50 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, January 20th. Royal Bank Of Canada set a $34.00 target price on shares of WaFd in a research report on Tuesday, January 20th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of WaFd from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Sunday, February 8th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price target on WaFd from $31.00 to $34.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 20th. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of WaFd in a report on Monday, December 29th.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Brent J. Beardall acquired 3,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, December 3rd. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $16.85 per share, for a total transaction of $50,550.00. Following the acquisition, the chief executive officer directly owned 6,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $101,100. This represents a 100.00% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Cathy E. Cooper sold 5,300 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 directly owned 94,755 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,199,876.35. This trade represents a 5.30% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. 1.49% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of WaFd

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund grew its position in WaFd by 1.7% in the 4th quarter. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund now owns 18,056 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $578,000 after buying an additional 300 shares in the last quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC lifted its stake in WaFd by 2.0% during the fourth quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 15,162 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $486,000 after buying an additional 304 shares in the last quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in WaFd by 9.3% in the 4th quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 4,092 shares of the bank’s stock worth $131,000 after purchasing an additional 349 shares during the period. Sanctuary Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of WaFd by 3.8% in the fourth quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC now owns 9,539 shares of the bank’s stock worth $306,000 after buying an additional 350 shares during the period. Finally, Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. increased its holdings in shares of WaFd by 42.8% in the 2nd quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 1,174 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $34,000 after purchasing an additional 352 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 83.71% of the company’s stock.

WaFd Trading Down 4.4%

Shares of WaFd stock opened at $31.16 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89, a quick ratio of 0.95 and a current ratio of 0.95. The company has a market capitalization of $2.36 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.78 and a beta of 0.85. WaFd has a 1 year low of $23.75 and a 1 year high of $34.29. The company’s fifty day moving average is $32.72 and its two-hundred day moving average is $31.52.

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

WaFd Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 27th. Investors of record on Friday, February 13th were given a dividend of $0.27 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 13th. This represents a $1.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.5%. WaFd’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 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.