Analysts Set WaFd, Inc. (NASDAQ:WAFD) PT at $34.80

WaFd, Inc. (NASDAQ:WAFD) has earned an average recommendation of “Hold” from the six brokerages that are covering the stock, Marketbeat.com reports. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating on the company. The average twelve-month price target among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $34.80.

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on the company. Zacks Research lowered WaFd from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, June 22nd. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of WaFd from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research note on Friday, May 22nd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price target on shares of WaFd from $35.00 to $38.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Monday, April 20th. Finally, Piper Sandler increased their price objective on shares of WaFd from $30.50 to $36.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, April 20th.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Kim E. Robison sold 22,000 shares of WaFd 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 completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 116,099 shares in the company, valued at approximately $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 accessible through this link. Company insiders own 1.49% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of WAFD. Assetmark Inc. increased its holdings in shares of WaFd by 3,620.0% in the 1st quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 930 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 905 shares during the last quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. lifted its stake in WaFd by 42.8% during the second quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 1,174 shares of the bank’s stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 352 shares during the last quarter. McIlrath & Eck LLC lifted its stake in WaFd by 57.6% during the second quarter. McIlrath & Eck LLC now owns 1,327 shares of the bank’s stock worth $39,000 after purchasing an additional 485 shares during the last quarter. Danske Bank A S acquired a new position in WaFd in the third quarter worth $51,000. Finally, EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in WaFd by 712.4% in the second quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,901 shares of the bank’s stock worth $56,000 after purchasing an additional 1,667 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 83.71% of the company’s stock.

WaFd Stock Up 2.4%

Shares of WaFd stock opened at $37.77 on Friday. WaFd has a 1-year low of $26.31 and a 1-year high of $39.35. The company has a market capitalization of $2.79 billion, a PE ratio of 12.34 and a beta of 0.83. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.14, a current ratio of 0.97 and a quick ratio of 0.97. The business has a 50-day moving average of $36.25 and a 200-day moving average of $33.84.

WaFd (NASDAQ:WAFD) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, April 17th. The bank reported $0.83 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.74 by $0.09. WaFd had a return on equity of 8.94% and a net margin of 18.25%.The business had revenue of $197.66 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $190.51 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.17 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts forecast that WaFd will post 3.27 EPS for the current fiscal year.

WaFd Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 5th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 22nd were paid a $0.27 dividend. This represents a $1.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.9%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 22nd. WaFd’s dividend payout ratio is 35.29%.

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.