WaFd (NASDAQ:WAFD) Sees Unusually-High Trading Volume on Strong Earnings

WaFd, Inc (NASDAQ:WAFD) shares saw strong trading volume on Wednesday following a stronger than expected earnings report. 282,811 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 27% from the previous session’s volume of 385,061 shares.The stock last traded at $33.90 and had previously closed at $32.92.

The bank reported $0.75 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.57 by $0.18. The firm had revenue of $194.44 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $185.36 million. WaFd had a net margin of 15.33% and a return on equity of 10.02%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 6.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.89 earnings per share.

WaFd Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 7th. Investors of record on Friday, May 24th were given a dividend of $0.26 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, May 23rd. This represents a $1.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.05%. WaFd’s dividend payout ratio is presently 39.54%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. DA Davidson restated a “buy” rating and set a $35.00 target price on shares of WaFd in a research report on Thursday, April 11th. Stephens reiterated an “equal weight” rating and issued a $32.00 price objective on shares of WaFd in a research report on Tuesday, April 23rd. StockNews.com downgraded shares of WaFd from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 21st. Finally, Piper Sandler upped their price objective on shares of WaFd from $29.00 to $31.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, May 20th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, WaFd currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $33.25.

Institutional Trading of WaFd

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of WAFD. Meeder Asset Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of WaFd during the first quarter worth about $194,000. Ameritas Investment Partners Inc. increased its stake in shares of WaFd by 5.7% during the first quarter. Ameritas Investment Partners Inc. now owns 6,887 shares of the bank’s stock worth $200,000 after purchasing an additional 373 shares in the last quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale purchased a new stake in shares of WaFd during the fourth quarter worth about $201,000. Diversified Trust Co purchased a new stake in shares of WaFd during the fourth quarter worth about $221,000. Finally, SG Americas Securities LLC purchased a new stake in shares of WaFd during the first quarter worth about $237,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.71% of the company’s stock.

WaFd Stock Up 3.4 %

The firm has a market cap of $2.77 billion, a PE ratio of 12.52 and a beta of 0.83. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $28.03 and its 200 day moving average price is $28.38. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.07, a current ratio of 1.17 and a quick ratio of 1.03.

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.