Piper Sandler Issues Pessimistic Forecast for WaFd (NASDAQ:WAFD) Stock Price

WaFd (NASDAQ:WAFD) had its price target dropped by Piper Sandler from $33.50 to $30.50 in a research note issued on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. The firm presently has a “neutral” rating on the bank’s stock. Piper Sandler’s price objective suggests a potential downside of 5.84% from the stock’s current price.

Other research analysts also recently issued research reports about the company. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of WaFd in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their target price on shares of WaFd from $31.00 to $34.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of WaFd from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating, According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $32.63.

WaFd Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:WAFD opened at $32.39 on Tuesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.48 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.21 and a beta of 0.86. 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 business’s 50 day simple moving average is $32.32 and its 200-day simple moving average is $30.98. WaFd has a 12 month low of $23.75 and a 12 month high of $33.92.

WaFd (NASDAQ:WAFD) last released its quarterly earnings data 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 during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $193.36 million. WaFd had a net margin of 17.45% and a return on equity of 8.67%. As a group, equities analysts forecast that WaFd will post 2.56 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at WaFd

In other news, CEO Brent J. Beardall bought 3,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, December 3rd. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $16.85 per share, with a total value of $50,550.00. Following the purchase, the chief executive officer owned 6,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $101,100. The trade was a 100.00% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Company insiders own 1.49% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On WaFd

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. American Century Companies Inc. boosted its stake in WaFd by 2.0% in the 3rd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 2,077,059 shares of the bank’s stock worth $62,914,000 after buying an additional 40,569 shares during the last quarter. Systematic Financial Management LP lifted its holdings in shares of WaFd by 0.7% during the 2nd quarter. Systematic Financial Management LP now owns 1,541,973 shares of the bank’s stock worth $45,149,000 after acquiring an additional 10,646 shares during the period. Ameriprise Financial Inc. boosted its position in shares of WaFd by 11.8% in the third quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 1,375,110 shares of the bank’s stock worth $41,652,000 after acquiring an additional 145,646 shares during the last quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC increased its position in WaFd by 14.3% during the third quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC now owns 1,100,312 shares of the bank’s stock worth $33,328,000 after purchasing an additional 137,525 shares during the last quarter. Finally, First Trust Advisors LP increased its position in WaFd by 6.3% during the third quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 698,303 shares of the bank’s stock worth $21,152,000 after purchasing an additional 41,598 shares during the last quarter. 83.71% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other 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.