WaFd, Inc. (NASDAQ:WAFD) Given Average Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by Brokerages

WaFd, Inc. (NASDAQ:WAFD) has earned a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from the six analysts that are covering the firm, Marketbeat reports. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, one has issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. The average 12 month target price among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $34.80.

A number of brokerages recently commented on WAFD. Zacks Research upgraded shares of WaFd from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, April 27th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price target on shares of WaFd from $35.00 to $38.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Monday, April 20th. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of WaFd from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research report on Friday, April 17th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of WaFd from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Sunday, February 8th. Finally, Piper Sandler increased their target price on shares of WaFd from $30.50 to $36.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, April 20th.

WaFd Stock Up 1.7%

Shares of WAFD opened at $35.45 on Friday. WaFd has a 52 week low of $26.31 and a 52 week high of $38.59. The firm has a market cap of $2.62 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.59 and a beta of 0.85. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $33.22 and its 200 day simple moving average is $32.55. 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 (NASDAQ:WAFD) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, April 17th. The bank reported $0.83 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.74 by $0.09. WaFd had a net margin of 18.25% and a return on equity of 8.94%. The business had revenue of $197.66 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $190.51 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.17 EPS. On average, analysts forecast that WaFd will post 3.27 earnings per share for the current year.

WaFd Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 5th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 22nd will be given a dividend of $0.27 per share. This represents a $1.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.0%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 22nd. WaFd’s dividend payout ratio is presently 35.29%.

Insider Activity

In other WaFd news, EVP Kim E. Robison sold 22,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, April 24th. The shares were 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 represents a 15.93% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 1.49% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in WAFD. Assetmark Inc. grew its position in shares of WaFd by 3,620.0% during the 1st quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 930 shares of the bank’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 905 shares in the last quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. grew its position in shares of WaFd by 42.8% during the 2nd quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 1,174 shares of the bank’s stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 352 shares in the last quarter. McIlrath & Eck LLC grew its position in shares of WaFd by 57.6% during the 2nd quarter. McIlrath & Eck LLC now owns 1,327 shares of the bank’s stock worth $39,000 after purchasing an additional 485 shares in the last quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. boosted its position in shares of WaFd by 604.5% during the 3rd quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 1,423 shares of the bank’s stock worth $43,000 after acquiring an additional 1,221 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Danske Bank A S acquired a new stake in shares of WaFd during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $51,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.