Analyzing WaFd (WAFD) and The Competition

WaFd (NASDAQ:WAFD) is one of 919 public companies in the “Banks” industry, but how does it contrast to its peers? We will compare WaFd to similar businesses based on the strength of its risk, dividends, institutional ownership, earnings, valuation, profitability and analyst recommendations.

Profitability

This table compares WaFd and its peers’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
WaFd	18.04%	9.37%	0.93%
WaFd Competitors	15.64%	9.43%	0.93%

Dividends

WaFd pays an annual dividend of $1.08 per share and has a dividend yield of 3.7%. WaFd pays out 33.6% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. As a group, “Banks” companies pay a dividend yield of 8.9% and pay out 28.9% of their earnings in the form of a dividend. WaFd has increased its dividend for 2 consecutive years. WaFd lags its peers as a dividend stock, given its lower dividend yield and higher payout ratio.

Valuation & Earnings

This table compares WaFd and its peers revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Net Income	Price/Earnings Ratio
WaFd	$1.42 billion	$255.87 million	9.17
WaFd Competitors	$37.93 billion	$2.42 billion	21.33

WaFd’s peers have higher revenue and earnings than WaFd. WaFd is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than its peers, indicating that it is currently more affordable than other companies in its industry.

Insider & Institutional Ownership

83.7% of WaFd shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 47.8% of shares of all “Banks” companies are held by institutional investors. 1.5% of WaFd shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 9.7% of shares of all “Banks” companies are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, large money managers and endowments believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

Analyst Ratings

This is a breakdown of recent ratings and target prices for WaFd and its peers, as reported by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
WaFd	0	5	0	0	2.00
WaFd Competitors	7492	30243	27843	1488	2.35

WaFd currently has a consensus price target of $32.50, suggesting a potential upside of 10.39%. As a group, “Banks” companies have a potential upside of 14.57%. Given WaFd’s peers stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, analysts plainly believe WaFd has less favorable growth aspects than its peers.

Volatility and Risk

WaFd has a beta of 0.9, meaning that its stock price is 10% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, WaFd’s peers have a beta of 0.61, meaning that their average stock price is 39% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Summary

WaFd peers beat WaFd on 12 of the 15 factors compared.

WaFd Company Profile

WaFd, Inc. is the bank holding company for WaFd Bank, a regional financial institution serving individuals, businesses and organizations. The bank offers deposit accounts, including checking and savings, as well as consumer and commercial lending, mortgage services and cash management. Its lending activities include residential mortgages and loans to businesses, including commercial real estate financing. WaFd Bank operates across the western United States, with a presence in states including Washington, Oregon, Idaho, Arizona, Nevada, Utah, New Mexico and Texas.