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

WaFd, Inc. (NASDAQ:WAFD) has earned a consensus rating of “Hold” from the five research firms that are currently covering the stock, MarketBeat reports. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 12-month price target among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $37.00.

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on WAFD shares. DA Davidson increased their target price on WaFd from $38.00 to $40.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, July 20th. Weiss Ratings upgraded WaFd from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research report on Friday, May 22nd. Zacks Research cut WaFd from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, June 22nd. Piper Sandler increased their price target on shares of WaFd from $30.50 to $36.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, April 20th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their target price on shares of WaFd from $35.00 to $38.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Monday, April 20th.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On WaFd

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Assetmark Inc. lifted its stake in WaFd by 3,620.0% in the first 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. raised its holdings in shares of WaFd by 42.8% during the 2nd quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 1,174 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $34,000 after purchasing an additional 352 shares in the last quarter. McIlrath & Eck LLC lifted its stake in shares of WaFd by 57.6% in the 2nd quarter. McIlrath & Eck LLC now owns 1,327 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $39,000 after purchasing an additional 485 shares during the last quarter. Danske Bank A S bought a new stake in WaFd in the third quarter worth $51,000. Finally, EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC increased its position in WaFd by 712.4% during the second quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,901 shares of the bank’s stock worth $56,000 after buying an additional 1,667 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 83.71% of the company’s stock.

WaFd Trading Up 0.1%

WaFd stock opened at $37.72 on Thursday. WaFd has a 1 year low of $26.31 and a 1 year high of $39.49. The company has a market cap of $2.79 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.90 and a beta of 0.84. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $37.04 and its 200-day moving average is $34.44. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.20, a quick ratio of 0.97 and a current ratio of 0.98.

WaFd (NASDAQ:WAFD) last announced its earnings results on Friday, July 17th. The bank reported $0.81 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.82 by ($0.01). WaFd had a net margin of 18.47% and a return on equity of 8.98%. The firm had revenue of $205.52 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $199.56 million. On average, equities analysts expect that WaFd will post 3.21 earnings per share for the current year.

WaFd Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 5th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 22nd were paid a $0.27 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 22nd. This represents a $1.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.9%. WaFd’s payout ratio is 34.07%.

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.