Brokerages Set WaFd, Inc. (NASDAQ:WAFD) PT at $32.00

WaFd, Inc. (NASDAQ:WAFD) has earned a consensus rating of “Hold” from the five analysts that are presently covering the stock, Marketbeat.com reports. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation. The average 12 month target price among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $32.00.

WAFD has been the topic of several research reports. Wall Street Zen upgraded WaFd from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their price objective on WaFd from $32.00 to $31.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, October 20th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of WaFd in a research report on Monday, December 29th.

WaFd Price Performance

NASDAQ:WAFD opened at $32.39 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64, a current ratio of 0.96 and a quick ratio of 0.96. WaFd has a one year low of $23.75 and a one year high of $33.92. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $32.28 and a 200 day moving average price of $30.97. The stock has a market cap of $2.48 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.21 and a beta of 0.86.

WaFd (NASDAQ:WAFD) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 15th. The bank reported $0.75 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.76 by ($0.01). WaFd had a return on equity of 8.40% and a net margin of 16.02%.The company had revenue of $191.37 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $193.36 million. Analysts anticipate that WaFd will post 2.56 earnings per share for the current year.

WaFd Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 5th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 21st were paid a $0.27 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 21st. This represents a $1.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.3%. WaFd’s dividend payout ratio is currently 40.91%.

Insider Buying and Selling at WaFd

In other WaFd news, CEO Brent J. Beardall bought 3,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, December 3rd. The shares were acquired at an average price of $16.85 per share, with a total value of $50,550.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the chief executive officer directly owned 6,000 shares in the company, valued at $101,100. The trade was a 100.00% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Company insiders own 1.49% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On WaFd

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. boosted its position in WaFd by 42.8% in the second quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 1,174 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $34,000 after buying an additional 352 shares in the last quarter. McIlrath & Eck LLC raised its stake in shares of WaFd by 57.6% in the second quarter. McIlrath & Eck LLC now owns 1,327 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $39,000 after acquiring an additional 485 shares during the last quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of WaFd by 604.5% in the 3rd quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 1,423 shares of the bank’s stock worth $43,000 after acquiring an additional 1,221 shares in the last quarter. Danske Bank A S bought a new stake in WaFd during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $51,000. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. increased its holdings in WaFd by 36.0% during the 3rd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,837 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $56,000 after purchasing an additional 486 shares in the last quarter. 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.