WaFd (NASDAQ:WAFD) Hits New 12-Month High After Dividend Announcement

WaFd, Inc. (NASDAQ:WAFD)’s share price reached a new 52-week high on Wednesday after the company announced a dividend. The company traded as high as $34.29 and last traded at $33.6680, with a volume of 78777 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $33.32.

The newly announced dividend which will be paid on Friday, February 27th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 13th will be given a $0.27 dividend. 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 is currently 37.37%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price target on shares of WaFd from $31.00 to $34.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 20th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of WaFd in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Wall Street Zen cut WaFd from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Saturday. Piper Sandler cut their price target on WaFd from $33.50 to $30.50 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, January 20th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada set a $34.00 price objective on WaFd in a research note on Tuesday, January 20th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating, According to MarketBeat.com, WaFd currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $32.90.

WaFd Price Performance

The company has a quick ratio of 0.96, a current ratio of 0.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $32.62 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $31.13. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.58 billion, a PE ratio of 11.70 and a beta of 0.86.

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

Insider Activity

In other WaFd news, CEO Brent J. Beardall purchased 3,000 shares of WaFd stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, December 3rd. The stock was purchased at an average price of $16.85 per share, with a total value of $50,550.00. Following the transaction, 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 purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. 1.49% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd boosted its stake in WaFd by 546.8% during the third quarter. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd now owns 61,036 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $1,849,000 after buying an additional 51,600 shares during the last quarter. AlphaCore Capital LLC increased its position in WaFd by 99.9% during the second quarter. AlphaCore Capital LLC now owns 33,571 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $983,000 after acquiring an additional 16,780 shares during the last quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership purchased a new position in WaFd during the 2nd quarter valued at $7,666,000. Versor Investments LP purchased a new stake in shares of WaFd in the second quarter valued at approximately $293,000. Finally, Norges Bank bought a new stake in WaFd during the 2nd quarter valued at $2,052,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.71% of the company’s stock.

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.