WaFd (NASDAQ:WAFD) Hits New 1-Year High – Should You Buy?

WaFd, Inc. (NASDAQ:WAFD) hit a new 52-week high on Thursday . The company traded as high as $39.48 and last traded at $39.4650, with a volume of 365638 shares. The stock had previously closed at $38.39.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts recently issued reports on the company. Weiss Ratings upgraded WaFd from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research note on Friday, May 22nd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price objective on WaFd from $35.00 to $38.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Monday, April 20th. Zacks Research cut shares of WaFd from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, June 22nd. Finally, Piper Sandler upped their price target 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. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $34.80.

WaFd Trading Up 2.5%

The business’s 50 day moving average price is $36.47 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $33.98. The company has a market capitalization of $2.91 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.85 and a beta of 0.83. The company has a current ratio of 0.97, a quick ratio of 0.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.14.

WaFd (NASDAQ:WAFD) last posted its 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. The business had revenue of $197.66 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $190.51 million. WaFd had a net margin of 18.25% and a return on equity of 8.94%. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.17 EPS. On average, equities analysts predict that WaFd, Inc. will post 3.27 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

WaFd Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 5th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 22nd were issued a $0.27 dividend. This represents a $1.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.7%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 22nd. WaFd’s payout ratio is presently 35.29%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Kim E. Robison sold 22,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, April 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $35.28, for a total transaction of $776,160.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 116,099 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,095,972.72. This represents a 15.93% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Company insiders own 1.49% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of WaFd

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in WAFD. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System bought a new position in WaFd in the 1st quarter worth $1,055,000. Tudor Investment Corp ET AL purchased a new stake in WaFd during the third quarter valued at $1,387,000. SG Americas Securities LLC lifted its holdings in shares of WaFd by 112.5% in the 4th quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 53,645 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $1,718,000 after acquiring an additional 28,406 shares during the last quarter. Bridgeway Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in WaFd by 8.8% during the 4th quarter. Bridgeway Capital Management LLC now owns 525,351 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $16,827,000 after buying an additional 42,536 shares during the period. Finally, Azora Capital LP purchased a new stake in shares of WaFd in the fourth quarter valued at $2,414,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors 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.