WaFd, Inc. (NASDAQ:WAFD) Given Consensus Rating of “Hold” by Brokerages

Shares of WaFd, Inc. (NASDAQ:WAFD) have earned a consensus rating of “Hold” from the six brokerages that are presently covering the company, MarketBeat reports. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and one has issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 1 year target price among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $34.80.

Several equities analysts have commented on the stock. Piper Sandler increased their price target on shares of WaFd from $30.50 to $36.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, April 20th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their target price on shares of WaFd from $35.00 to $38.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Monday, April 20th. Zacks Research downgraded shares of WaFd from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, June 22nd. Finally, Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of WaFd from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research note on Friday, May 22nd.

Insider Transactions at WaFd

In related news, EVP Kim E. Robison sold 22,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, April 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $35.28, for a total transaction of $776,160.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 116,099 shares in the company, valued at $4,095,972.72. This trade represents a 15.93% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 1.49% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On WaFd

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in WAFD. Assetmark Inc. grew its holdings in shares of WaFd by 3,620.0% during the first quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 930 shares of the bank’s stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 905 shares during the last quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. increased its holdings in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 352 shares during the period. McIlrath & Eck LLC raised its stake in shares of WaFd by 57.6% during the second quarter. McIlrath & Eck LLC now owns 1,327 shares of the bank’s stock worth $39,000 after purchasing an additional 485 shares during the last quarter. Danske Bank A S acquired a new stake in shares of WaFd during the third quarter worth $51,000. Finally, EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of WaFd by 712.4% during the second quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,901 shares of the bank’s stock worth $56,000 after purchasing an additional 1,667 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.71% of the company’s stock.

WaFd Stock Performance

WAFD opened at $38.34 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.14, a quick ratio of 0.97 and a current ratio of 0.97. WaFd has a one year low of $26.31 and a one year high of $39.35. The company has a market cap of $2.83 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.53 and a beta of 0.83. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $36.07 and its 200-day simple moving average is $33.71.

WaFd (NASDAQ:WAFD) last posted its earnings results on Friday, April 17th. The bank reported $0.83 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.74 by $0.09. The firm had revenue of $197.66 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $190.51 million. WaFd had a return on equity of 8.94% and a net margin of 18.25%.During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.17 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts expect that WaFd will post 3.27 EPS for the current fiscal year.

WaFd Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 5th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 22nd were issued a dividend of $0.27 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 22nd. This represents a $1.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.8%. WaFd’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 35.29%.

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.