WaFd (NASDAQ:WAFD) Stock Rating Lowered by Zacks Research

WaFd (NASDAQ:WAFD) was downgraded by investment analysts at Zacks Research from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note issued on Monday,Zacks.com reports. Zacks Research also issued estimates for WaFd’s Q1 2028 earnings at $0.86 EPS.

A number of other equities analysts have also recently issued reports on the stock. Weiss Ratings raised shares of WaFd from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research note on Friday, May 22nd. Piper Sandler upped their target price on shares of WaFd from $30.50 to $36.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, April 20th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased 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 investment analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $34.80.

WaFd Stock Performance

WaFd stock opened at $37.26 on Monday. The company has a current ratio of 0.97, a quick ratio of 0.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.14. WaFd has a 1 year low of $26.31 and a 1 year high of $38.59. The company has a market cap of $2.75 billion, a PE ratio of 12.18 and a beta of 0.84. The company’s 50-day moving average is $35.37 and its two-hundred day moving average is $33.40.

WaFd (NASDAQ:WAFD) last issued its earnings results on Friday, April 17th. The bank reported $0.83 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.74 by $0.09. WaFd had a net margin of 18.25% and a return on equity of 8.94%. The company had revenue of $197.66 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $190.51 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.17 EPS. Equities analysts anticipate that WaFd will post 3.27 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Kim E. Robison sold 22,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, April 24th. The shares were 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 owned 116,099 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,095,972.72. The trade was a 15.93% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 1.49% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its stake in WaFd by 399.4% during the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 333,712 shares of the bank’s stock worth $10,689,000 after purchasing an additional 266,891 shares in the last quarter. ExodusPoint Capital Management LP raised its position in WaFd by 373.8% in the 4th quarter. ExodusPoint Capital Management LP now owns 287,947 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $9,223,000 after buying an additional 227,174 shares during the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE lifted its position in shares of WaFd by 28.1% in the first quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 905,863 shares of the bank’s stock worth $28,444,000 after purchasing an additional 198,728 shares in the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. lifted its position in WaFd by 52.0% during the 4th quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 448,716 shares of the bank’s stock worth $14,372,000 after buying an additional 153,556 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Ameriprise Financial Inc. boosted its position in WaFd by 11.8% during the third quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 1,375,110 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $41,652,000 after purchasing an additional 145,646 shares during the last quarter. 83.71% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.