What is Zacks Research’s Forecast for WaFd FY2026 Earnings?

WaFd, Inc. (NASDAQ:WAFD) – Equities research analysts at Zacks Research cut their FY2026 earnings estimates for WaFd in a report released on Thursday, August 6th. Zacks Research analyst Team now expects that the bank will post earnings per share of $3.19 for the year, down from their previous forecast of $3.21. Zacks Research has a “Hold” rating on the stock. The consensus estimate for WaFd’s current full-year earnings is $3.21 per share. Zacks Research also issued estimates for WaFd’s Q4 2026 earnings at $0.80 EPS, Q1 2027 earnings at $0.84 EPS, Q2 2027 earnings at $0.81 EPS, Q4 2027 earnings at $0.87 EPS, Q2 2028 earnings at $0.89 EPS, Q3 2028 earnings at $0.88 EPS and FY2028 earnings at $3.53 EPS.

Several other research analysts also recently weighed in on the company. Piper Sandler boosted their target price on WaFd from $30.50 to $36.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, April 20th. Weiss Ratings raised shares of WaFd from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a report on Friday, May 22nd. DA Davidson raised their price objective on shares of WaFd from $38.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, July 20th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price target on WaFd from $35.00 to $38.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Monday, April 20th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, WaFd has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $37.00.

WaFd Stock Down 0.7%

Shares of WaFd stock opened at $37.47 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $2.77 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.82 and a beta of 0.84. WaFd has a 52-week low of $26.31 and a 52-week high of $39.49. The company has a quick ratio of 0.97, a current ratio of 0.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.20. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $37.08 and its 200-day moving average price is $34.48.

WaFd (NASDAQ:WAFD) last posted its earnings results on Friday, July 17th. The bank reported $0.81 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.82 by ($0.01). The company had revenue of $205.52 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $199.56 million. WaFd had a return on equity of 8.98% and a net margin of 18.47%.

WaFd Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 5th. Investors of record on Friday, May 22nd were given a dividend of $0.27 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 22nd. This represents a $1.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.9%. WaFd’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 34.07%.

Institutional Trading of WaFd

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its holdings in shares of WaFd by 0.5% during the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 4,980,089 shares of the bank’s stock worth $159,514,000 after purchasing an additional 26,000 shares during the period. Systematic Financial Management LP increased its stake in shares of WaFd by 0.5% during the fourth quarter. Systematic Financial Management LP now owns 1,557,436 shares of the bank’s stock worth $49,885,000 after buying an additional 8,039 shares during the period. Ameriprise Financial Inc. raised its stake in WaFd by 11.8% in the third quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 1,375,110 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $41,652,000 after buying an additional 145,646 shares in the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE boosted its holdings in shares of WaFd by 28.1% in the 1st quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 905,863 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $28,444,000 after buying an additional 198,728 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its position in shares of WaFd by 5.7% during the fourth quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 712,302 shares of the bank’s stock worth $22,815,000 after purchasing an additional 38,376 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.71% of the company’s stock.

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.