WaFd (NASDAQ:WAFD) Price Target Raised to $38.00

WaFd (NASDAQ:WAFD) had its price objective upped by stock analysts at Keefe, Bruyette & Woods from $35.00 to $38.00 in a research report issued on Monday,Benzinga reports. The firm presently has a “market perform” rating on the bank’s stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods’ price objective would suggest a potential upside of 7.83% from the company’s previous close.

Other equities research analysts also recently issued research reports about the stock. Royal Bank Of Canada set a $34.00 price objective on shares of WaFd in a research report on Tuesday, January 20th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of WaFd from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Sunday, February 8th. Piper Sandler boosted their price objective on shares of WaFd from $30.50 to $36.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday. Finally, Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of WaFd from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research note on Friday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $34.80.

WaFd Stock Performance

NASDAQ:WAFD opened at $35.24 on Monday. The company has a current ratio of 0.97, a quick ratio of 0.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.14. WaFd has a 12 month low of $26.31 and a 12 month high of $35.27. The company has a market cap of $2.67 billion, a PE ratio of 11.52 and a beta of 0.83. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $32.00 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $31.65.

WaFd (NASDAQ:WAFD) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, April 16th. The bank reported $0.83 EPS for the quarter, topping 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 during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $190.51 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.17 EPS. Research analysts forecast that WaFd will post 2.56 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, EVP Cathy E. Cooper sold 5,300 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $33.77, for a total transaction of $178,981.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 94,755 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,199,876.35. This represents a 5.30% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 1.49% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of WaFd

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in WAFD. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. raised 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 valued at $34,000 after buying an additional 352 shares in the last quarter. McIlrath & Eck LLC grew its holdings in WaFd by 57.6% during the 2nd quarter. McIlrath & Eck LLC now owns 1,327 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $39,000 after purchasing an additional 485 shares during the last quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. grew its holdings in WaFd by 604.5% during the 3rd quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 1,423 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $43,000 after purchasing an additional 1,221 shares during the last quarter. Danske Bank A S bought a new position in WaFd during the 3rd quarter valued at about $51,000. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. grew its holdings in WaFd by 36.0% during the 3rd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,837 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $56,000 after purchasing an additional 486 shares during the last quarter. 83.71% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other 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.