Analysts Set WaFd, Inc. (NASDAQ:WAFD) Price Target at $34.80

WaFd, Inc. (NASDAQ:WAFD) has earned an average rating of “Hold” from the six ratings firms that are currently covering the firm, Marketbeat reports. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating 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.

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

WaFd Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:WAFD traded up $0.33 on Friday, hitting $38.10. The company had a trading volume of 400,001 shares, compared to its average volume of 621,447. The company has a current ratio of 0.97, a quick ratio of 0.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.14. The company has a market cap of $2.82 billion, a PE ratio of 12.45 and a beta of 0.83. WaFd has a 52-week low of $26.31 and a 52-week high of $39.35. The business has a 50 day moving average of $36.31 and a 200 day moving average of $33.87.

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

WaFd Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 5th. Investors of record on Friday, May 22nd were issued a $0.27 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 22nd. This represents a $1.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.8%. WaFd’s dividend payout ratio is currently 35.29%.

Insider Activity at WaFd

In related news, EVP Kim E. Robison sold 22,000 shares of WaFd stock in a transaction dated Friday, April 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $35.28, for a total value of $776,160.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 116,099 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,095,972.72. This trade represents a 15.93% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Insiders own 1.49% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On WaFd

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its stake in WaFd by 0.5% during the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 4,980,089 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $159,514,000 after purchasing an additional 26,000 shares during the last quarter. Systematic Financial Management LP boosted its holdings in shares of WaFd by 0.5% in the 4th quarter. Systematic Financial Management LP now owns 1,557,436 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $49,885,000 after buying an additional 8,039 shares during the period. Ameriprise Financial Inc. grew its position in shares of WaFd by 11.8% during the 3rd 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 during the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE raised its stake in WaFd by 28.1% during the first quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 905,863 shares of the bank’s stock worth $28,444,000 after acquiring an additional 198,728 shares during the period. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its stake in 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 acquiring an additional 38,376 shares during the period. 83.71% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.