Zacks Research Weighs in on WaFd’s Q1 Earnings (NASDAQ:WAFD)

WaFd, Inc (NASDAQ:WAFD) – Investment analysts at Zacks Research lowered their Q1 2026 earnings per share (EPS) estimates for WaFd in a research report issued to clients and investors on Wednesday, October 16th. Zacks Research analyst S. Shah now anticipates that the bank will earn $0.86 per share for the quarter, down from their prior estimate of $0.87. The consensus estimate for WaFd’s current full-year earnings is $3.00 per share. Zacks Research also issued estimates for WaFd’s Q4 2026 earnings at $0.98 EPS.

WaFd (NASDAQ:WAFD) last announced its 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. WaFd had a return on equity of 9.58% and a net margin of 14.13%. The business had revenue of $389.98 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $190.43 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.72 EPS.

A number of other research analysts have also weighed in on WAFD. Stephens raised their price target on shares of WaFd from $32.00 to $36.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 18th. StockNews.com cut WaFd from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Thursday, October 3rd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, WaFd presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $34.25.

WaFd Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ WAFD opened at $36.95 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $3.00 billion, a PE ratio of 14.84 and a beta of 0.83. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $35.23 and a 200 day moving average of $31.22. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.52, a quick ratio of 1.09 and a current ratio of 1.11. WaFd has a one year low of $23.36 and a one year high of $37.49.

WaFd Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 6th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 23rd were issued a $0.26 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 23rd. This represents a $1.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.81%. WaFd’s payout ratio is 41.77%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in WAFD. Blue Trust Inc. lifted its position in WaFd by 80.8% during the third quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,188 shares of the bank’s stock worth $41,000 after buying an additional 531 shares in the last quarter. Oliver Luxxe Assets LLC purchased a new position in shares of WaFd during the 3rd quarter worth $1,823,000. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its position in shares of WaFd by 515.8% during the 3rd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,558 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $54,000 after acquiring an additional 1,305 shares during the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC purchased a new stake in shares of WaFd in the third quarter valued at about $194,000. Finally, Sanctuary Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of WaFd in the second quarter valued at about $252,000. 83.71% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About WaFd

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.