WaFd (NASDAQ:WAFD) Sets New 1-Year High – Still a Buy?

WaFd, Inc. (NASDAQ:WAFD) reached a new 52-week high during trading on Tuesday . The stock traded as high as $40.00 and last traded at $36.21, with a volume of 1934 shares. The stock had previously closed at $36.29.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

WAFD has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b)” rating on shares of WaFd in a report on Wednesday, August 19th. Zacks Research downgraded WaFd from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, June 22nd. Finally, DA Davidson upped their price objective on WaFd from $38.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, July 20th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $37.00.

WaFd Stock Down 0.3%

The firm has a market cap of $2.68 billion, a PE ratio of 11.39 and a beta of 0.84. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.20, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a current ratio of 0.98. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $37.43 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $34.89.

WaFd (NASDAQ:WAFD) last posted its earnings results on Friday, July 17th. The bank reported $0.81 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.82 by ($0.01). WaFd had a net margin of 18.47% and a return on equity of 8.98%. The company had revenue of $205.52 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $199.56 million. As a group, equities research analysts expect that WaFd, Inc. will post 3.21 EPS for the current fiscal year.

WaFd Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 4th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 21st will be paid a $0.27 dividend. This represents a $1.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.0%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 21st. WaFd’s dividend payout ratio is currently 34.07%.

Institutional Trading of WaFd

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in WAFD. Assetmark Inc. lifted 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 purchasing an additional 905 shares during the last quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. grew its stake in WaFd by 42.8% during the 2nd quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 1,174 shares of the bank’s stock worth $34,000 after buying an additional 352 shares during the last quarter. McIlrath & Eck LLC increased its position 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 buying an additional 485 shares during the period. Danske Bank A S acquired a new position in WaFd during the third quarter worth approximately $51,000. Finally, Nykredit A S purchased a new stake in WaFd in the second quarter valued at approximately $52,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.