WaFd, Inc. (NASDAQ:WAFD) to Issue $0.27 Quarterly Dividend

WaFd, Inc. (NASDAQ:WAFD) announced a quarterly dividend on Tuesday, August 11th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 21st will be paid a dividend of 0.27 per share by the bank on Friday, September 4th. This represents a c) dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 21st.

WaFd has raised its dividend payment by an average of 0.0%annually over the last three years and has increased its dividend every year for the last 2 years. WaFd has a payout ratio of 35.8% meaning its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Analysts expect WaFd to earn $3.38 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $1.08 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 32.0%.

WaFd Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:WAFD traded down $0.44 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $37.62. 85,071 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 625,906. The company has a quick ratio of 0.98, a current ratio of 0.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.20. The company has a market cap of $2.78 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.88 and a beta of 0.84. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $37.22 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $34.59. WaFd has a 52-week low of $26.31 and a 52-week high of $39.49.

WaFd (NASDAQ:WAFD) last posted its earnings results on Friday, July 17th. The bank reported $0.81 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.82 by ($0.01). The firm had revenue of $205.52 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $199.56 million. WaFd had a net margin of 18.47% and a return on equity of 8.98%. As a group, equities analysts predict that WaFd will post 3.21 EPS for the current year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

WAFD has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. DA Davidson upped their price objective on shares of WaFd from $38.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, July 20th. Piper Sandler lifted their price target on WaFd from $30.50 to $36.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, April 20th. Weiss Ratings raised WaFd from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a report on Friday, May 22nd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price target on WaFd from $35.00 to $38.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Monday, April 20th. Finally, Zacks Research cut shares of WaFd from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, June 22nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $37.00.

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.