WaFd (NASDAQ:WAFD) Stock Rating Upgraded by StockNews.com

WaFd (NASDAQ:WAFD) was upgraded by equities research analysts at StockNews.com from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report released on Tuesday.

Other research analysts have also recently issued research reports about the stock. DA Davidson upped their target price on shares of WaFd from $39.00 to $41.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, October 21st. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reissued a “market perform” rating and issued a $40.00 price objective on shares of WaFd in a research note on Monday, October 21st. Piper Sandler decreased their target price on WaFd from $36.00 to $35.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, October 21st. Finally, Stephens increased their target price on shares of WaFd from $32.00 to $36.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 18th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, WaFd currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $38.00.

WaFd Trading Down 0.6 %

WAFD traded down $0.22 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $37.43. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 400,162 shares, compared to its average volume of 449,733. The company has a current ratio of 1.08, a quick ratio of 1.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21. The firm has a market cap of $3.04 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.09 and a beta of 0.83. WaFd has a 52-week low of $24.66 and a 52-week high of $38.58. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $35.14 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $32.14.

WaFd (NASDAQ:WAFD) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 17th. The bank reported $0.71 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.70 by $0.01. WaFd had a net margin of 13.97% and a return on equity of 9.44%. The business had revenue of $389.98 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $190.43 million. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.72 EPS. On average, research analysts anticipate that WaFd will post 2.86 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Ryan Mauer sold 12,132 shares of WaFd stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $33.33, for a total value of $404,359.56. Following the sale, 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 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 2.25% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On WaFd

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in WAFD. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. bought a new position in shares of WaFd during the third quarter valued at $18,583,000. American Century Companies Inc. raised its holdings in shares of WaFd by 31.6% in the 2nd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 1,274,665 shares of the bank’s stock worth $36,430,000 after acquiring an additional 305,942 shares during the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of WaFd by 113.4% in the second quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 272,721 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $7,794,000 after purchasing an additional 144,920 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in WaFd by 1.6% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 7,902,461 shares of the bank’s stock worth $229,408,000 after acquiring an additional 125,020 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its position in WaFd by 28.6% in the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 428,504 shares of the bank’s stock worth $14,933,000 after purchasing an additional 95,251 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors 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.