WaFd (NASDAQ:WAFD) Downgraded to Hold Rating by Zacks Research

WaFd (NASDAQ:WAFD) was downgraded by equities research analysts at Zacks Research from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report released on Monday,Zacks.com reports. Zacks Research also issued estimates for WaFd’s Q1 2028 earnings at $0.86 EPS.

Other research analysts also recently issued research reports about the company. Piper Sandler lifted their price objective on WaFd from $30.50 to $36.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, April 20th. Weiss Ratings upgraded WaFd from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a report on Friday, May 22nd. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price target on WaFd from $35.00 to $38.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Monday, April 20th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $34.80.

WaFd Price Performance

Shares of WaFd stock opened at $37.26 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.14, a quick ratio of 0.97 and a current ratio of 0.97. WaFd has a 52-week low of $26.31 and a 52-week high of $38.59. The company has a fifty day moving average of $35.37 and a 200-day moving average of $33.40. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.75 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.18 and a beta of 0.84.

WaFd (NASDAQ:WAFD) last issued its earnings results on Friday, April 17th. The bank reported $0.83 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.74 by $0.09. The company had revenue of $197.66 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $190.51 million. WaFd had a net margin of 18.25% and a return on equity of 8.94%. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.17 EPS. Equities research analysts expect that WaFd will post 3.27 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Kim E. Robison sold 22,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, April 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $35.28, for a total value of $776,160.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 116,099 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,095,972.72. This trade represents a 15.93% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 1.49% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of WAFD. Royal Bank of Canada increased its stake in shares of WaFd by 14.5% during the first quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 22,011 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $629,000 after buying an additional 2,783 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of WaFd by 271.2% during the first quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 30,794 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $867,000 after acquiring an additional 22,499 shares in the last quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. lifted its stake in WaFd by 26.6% in the first quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 48,094 shares of the bank’s stock worth $1,375,000 after acquiring an additional 10,092 shares during the period. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC lifted its stake in WaFd by 9.2% in the first quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 246,467 shares of the bank’s stock worth $7,044,000 after acquiring an additional 20,865 shares during the period. Finally, Jane Street Group LLC boosted its holdings in WaFd by 862.6% in the first quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 69,306 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $1,981,000 after acquiring an additional 62,106 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 83.71% of the company’s stock.

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.