WaFd, Inc. (NASDAQ:WAFD) Receives Average Rating of “Hold” from Analysts

WaFd, Inc. (NASDAQ:WAFD) has earned a consensus rating of “Hold” from the five brokerages that are currently covering the firm, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating. The average 12-month price objective among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $32.90.

A number of brokerages recently commented on WAFD. Wall Street Zen cut WaFd from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Saturday, January 31st. Royal Bank Of Canada set a $34.00 target price on shares of WaFd in a research note on Tuesday, January 20th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price objective on WaFd from $31.00 to $34.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 20th. Piper Sandler dropped their target price on WaFd from $33.50 to $30.50 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 20th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of WaFd in a research report on Monday, December 29th.

WaFd Price Performance

Shares of WAFD stock opened at $33.68 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89, a quick ratio of 0.96 and a current ratio of 0.95. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.57 billion, a PE ratio of 11.63 and a beta of 0.86. WaFd has a 52 week low of $23.75 and a 52 week high of $34.29. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $32.65 and its 200-day moving average is $31.14.

WaFd (NASDAQ:WAFD) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 16th. The bank reported $0.75 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.76 by ($0.01). WaFd had a net margin of 17.45% and a return on equity of 8.67%. The firm had revenue of $188.32 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $193.36 million. Equities research analysts expect that WaFd will post 2.56 EPS for the current fiscal year.

WaFd Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 27th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 13th will be issued a dividend of $0.27 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 13th. This represents a $1.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.2%. WaFd’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 37.37%.

Insider Activity at WaFd

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

Institutional Investors Weigh In On WaFd

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund increased its position in shares of WaFd by 1.7% in the fourth quarter. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund now owns 18,056 shares of the bank’s stock worth $578,000 after purchasing an additional 300 shares during the period. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of WaFd by 9.3% in the 4th quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 4,092 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $131,000 after purchasing an additional 349 shares in the last quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of WaFd by 3.8% during the 4th quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC now owns 9,539 shares of the bank’s stock worth $306,000 after buying an additional 350 shares during the last quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. grew 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 acquiring an additional 352 shares during the last quarter. Finally, PNC Financial Services Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of WaFd by 2.7% in the third quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 14,070 shares of the bank’s stock worth $426,000 after acquiring an additional 374 shares during the last quarter. 83.71% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

WaFd Company Profile

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.