Zacks Research Issues Pessimistic Forecast for WaFd Earnings

WaFd, Inc (NASDAQ:WAFD) – Analysts at Zacks Research dropped their Q2 2026 earnings per share estimates for WaFd in a report released on Wednesday, December 18th. Zacks Research analyst S. Shah now anticipates that the bank will post earnings per share of $0.81 for the quarter, down from their prior estimate of $0.82. The consensus estimate for WaFd’s current full-year earnings is $2.82 per share. Zacks Research also issued estimates for WaFd’s Q4 2026 earnings at $0.82 EPS, FY2026 earnings at $3.22 EPS and FY2027 earnings at $3.34 EPS.

WaFd (NASDAQ:WAFD) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 17th. The bank reported $0.71 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.70 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $389.98 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $190.43 million. WaFd had a return on equity of 9.44% and a net margin of 13.97%. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.72 earnings per share.

A number of other research analysts also recently issued reports on the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reissued a “market perform” rating and issued a $40.00 price objective on shares of WaFd in a research note on Monday, October 21st. Piper Sandler dropped their price target on WaFd from $36.00 to $35.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, October 21st. DA Davidson raised their price objective on shares of WaFd from $39.00 to $41.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, October 21st. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of WaFd from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 12th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $38.00.

WaFd Stock Down 1.4 %

Shares of NASDAQ WAFD opened at $31.95 on Friday. WaFd has a 52-week low of $25.78 and a 52-week high of $38.62. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $35.69 and its 200-day moving average price is $33.59. The company has a market capitalization of $2.60 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.88 and a beta of 0.84. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21, a quick ratio of 1.08 and a current ratio of 1.08.

WaFd Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 6th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 22nd were paid a $0.26 dividend. This represents a $1.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.26%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 22nd. WaFd’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 41.94%.

Insider Activity at WaFd

In related news, EVP Ryan Mauer sold 12,132 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $33.33, for a total transaction of $404,359.56. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 100,376 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,345,532.08. This trade represents a 10.78 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 2.25% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On WaFd

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its position in WaFd by 28.6% during the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 428,504 shares of the bank’s stock worth $14,933,000 after purchasing an additional 95,251 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. increased its holdings in WaFd by 6.7% during the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 26,463 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $954,000 after purchasing an additional 1,669 shares during the period. Sanctuary Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in WaFd by 10.1% in the 3rd quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC now owns 9,958 shares of the bank’s stock worth $370,000 after buying an additional 913 shares during the period. McIlrath & Eck LLC grew its position in shares of WaFd by 112.7% in the 3rd quarter. McIlrath & Eck LLC now owns 1,323 shares of the bank’s stock worth $46,000 after buying an additional 701 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of WaFd by 10.0% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,759,135 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $61,318,000 after buying an additional 159,750 shares during the period. 83.71% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

WaFd Company Profile

WaFd, Inc operates as the bank holding company for Washington Federal Bank that provides lending, depository, insurance, and other banking services in the United States. The company offers deposit products, including business and personal checking accounts, and term certificates of deposit, as well as money market accounts and passbook savings accounts.