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

Shares of WaFd, Inc. (NASDAQ:WAFD) have been assigned a consensus recommendation of “Hold” from the five brokerages that are presently covering the company, Marketbeat reports. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation. The average twelve-month price target among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $32.90.

A number of research analysts have weighed in on the company. Piper Sandler reduced their price target on 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 price objective on WaFd in a research report on Tuesday, January 20th. Wall Street Zen upgraded WaFd from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Sunday, February 8th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of WaFd in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price target on WaFd from $31.00 to $34.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 20th.

WaFd Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ WAFD opened at $31.81 on Friday. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $32.00 and a 200-day simple moving average of $31.51. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89, a current ratio of 0.95 and a quick ratio of 0.95. The company has a market cap of $2.41 billion, a PE ratio of 11.01 and a beta of 0.83. WaFd has a 12 month low of $23.75 and a 12 month high of $34.29.

WaFd (NASDAQ:WAFD) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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). WaFd had a net margin of 17.45% and a return on equity of 8.67%. The firm had revenue of $188.32 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $193.36 million. On average, equities analysts anticipate that WaFd will post 2.56 earnings per share for the current year.

WaFd Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 27th. Investors of record on Friday, February 13th were given a $0.27 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 13th. This represents a $1.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.4%. WaFd’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 37.37%.

Insider Transactions at WaFd

In related news, EVP Cathy E. Cooper sold 5,300 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $33.77, for a total value of $178,981.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly 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 transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders own 1.49% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On WaFd

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in WAFD. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd raised its position in shares of WaFd by 546.8% in the 3rd quarter. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd now owns 61,036 shares of the bank’s stock worth $1,849,000 after buying an additional 51,600 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. boosted its holdings in 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 during the last quarter. State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D purchased a new stake in WaFd during the third quarter valued at about $2,117,000. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership acquired a new stake in WaFd during the second quarter worth about $7,666,000. Finally, Victory Capital Management Inc. increased its stake in WaFd by 15.4% during the third quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 338,608 shares of the bank’s stock worth $10,256,000 after acquiring an additional 45,228 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.