WaFd (NASDAQ:WAFD) Upgraded at Wall Street Zen

Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of WaFd (NASDAQ:WAFD) from a sell rating to a hold rating in a research report sent to investors on Saturday.

Other equities research analysts have also recently issued research reports about the stock. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of WaFd in a report on Monday, December 29th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their price target on shares of WaFd from $32.00 to $31.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, October 20th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating, According to MarketBeat.com, WaFd currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $32.00.

WaFd Stock Performance

Shares of WAFD opened at $32.39 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $32.32 and a 200-day moving average of $30.98. WaFd has a one year low of $23.75 and a one year high of $33.92. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89, a current ratio of 0.95 and a quick ratio of 0.96. The company has a market cap of $2.48 billion, a PE ratio of 11.21 and a beta of 0.86.

WaFd (NASDAQ:WAFD) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 15th. The bank reported $0.75 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.76 by ($0.01). The firm had revenue of $191.37 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $193.36 million. WaFd had a return on equity of 8.67% and a net margin of 17.45%. On average, equities research analysts predict that WaFd will post 2.56 EPS for the current fiscal year.

WaFd Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared 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 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.3%. WaFd’s payout ratio is currently 40.91%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Brent J. Beardall bought 3,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, December 3rd. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $16.85 per share, for a total transaction of $50,550.00. Following the purchase, the chief executive officer owned 6,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $101,100. This represents a 100.00% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Company insiders own 1.49% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in WAFD. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. grew its stake in WaFd by 42.8% during the second quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 1,174 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $34,000 after acquiring an additional 352 shares in the last quarter. McIlrath & Eck LLC lifted its position in shares of WaFd by 57.6% during the second quarter. McIlrath & Eck LLC now owns 1,327 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $39,000 after buying an additional 485 shares during the last quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. increased its stake in WaFd by 604.5% during the 3rd quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 1,423 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $43,000 after purchasing an additional 1,221 shares in the last quarter. Danske Bank A S acquired a new position in WaFd in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $51,000. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. lifted its stake in shares of WaFd by 36.0% in 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 during the period. 83.71% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.