WaFd (NASDAQ:WAFD) Share Price Passes Above 200-Day Moving Average – Should You Sell?

WaFd, Inc. (NASDAQ:WAFD) shares crossed above its 200-day moving average during trading on Tuesday . The stock has a 200-day moving average of $31.02 and traded as high as $32.14. WaFd shares last traded at $32.02, with a volume of 325,775 shares.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on WAFD shares. Wall Street Zen raised shares of WaFd from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, January 17th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of WaFd in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Royal Bank Of Canada set a $34.00 target price on WaFd in a research note on Tuesday, January 20th. Piper Sandler reduced their target price on WaFd from $33.50 to $30.50 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 20th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price target on WaFd from $31.00 to $34.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 20th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating, According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $32.90.

WaFd Stock Up 0.6%

The firm has a market capitalization of $2.45 billion, a PE ratio of 11.08 and a beta of 0.86. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $32.51 and a 200-day simple moving average of $31.02. The company has a quick ratio of 0.96, a current ratio of 0.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89.

WaFd (NASDAQ:WAFD) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 16th. The bank reported $0.75 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.76 by ($0.01). WaFd had a return on equity of 8.67% and a net margin of 17.45%.The firm had revenue of $188.32 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $193.36 million. Analysts forecast that WaFd, Inc. will post 2.56 EPS for the current year.

WaFd Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 5th. Investors of record on Friday, November 21st were paid a dividend of $0.27 per share. This represents a $1.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.4%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 21st. WaFd’s dividend payout ratio is presently 37.37%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other WaFd news, CEO Brent J. Beardall acquired 3,000 shares of WaFd stock in a transaction that occurred 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $101,100. This represents a 100.00% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Company insiders own 1.49% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On WaFd

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Davidson Investment Advisors lifted its holdings in WaFd by 1.1% during the 4th quarter. Davidson Investment Advisors now owns 312,403 shares of the bank’s stock worth $10,006,000 after purchasing an additional 3,263 shares in the last quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue increased its position in shares of WaFd by 1.4% during the fourth quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue now owns 43,570 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $1,394,000 after buying an additional 608 shares during the period. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of WaFd by 9.3% in the fourth quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 4,092 shares of the bank’s stock worth $131,000 after buying an additional 349 shares in the last quarter. Baron Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of WaFd in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $269,000. Finally, Congress Asset Management Co. boosted its position in shares of WaFd by 2.5% in the fourth quarter. Congress Asset Management Co. now owns 219,558 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $7,032,000 after acquiring an additional 5,372 shares during the period. 83.71% of the stock is 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.