WaFd, Inc. (NASDAQ:WAFD) Receives Average Rating of “Hold” from Brokerages

Shares of WaFd, Inc. (NASDAQ:WAFD) have been given an average recommendation of “Hold” by the five analysts that are currently covering the firm, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and one has issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 12-month price target among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $37.00.

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on WAFD. Zacks Research cut shares of WaFd from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, June 22nd. DA Davidson raised their price objective on WaFd from $38.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, July 20th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b)” rating on shares of WaFd in a research report on Wednesday, August 19th.

Institutional Trading of WaFd

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of WAFD. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund grew its position in WaFd by 1.7% during the fourth quarter. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund now owns 18,056 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $578,000 after buying an additional 300 shares during the period. ProShare Advisors LLC boosted its stake in WaFd by 2.0% in the 4th quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 15,162 shares of the bank’s stock worth $486,000 after purchasing an additional 304 shares during the period. Baron Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in WaFd by 3.8% during the 1st quarter. Baron Wealth Management LLC now owns 8,720 shares of the bank’s stock worth $274,000 after acquiring an additional 323 shares during the period. Sanctuary Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of WaFd by 3.8% in the 4th quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC now owns 9,539 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $306,000 after acquiring an additional 350 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. lifted its position in WaFd by 42.8% during the second quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 1,174 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $34,000 after purchasing an additional 352 shares during the last quarter. 83.71% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

WaFd Trading Down 0.2%

Shares of NASDAQ WAFD opened at $36.09 on Monday. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.67 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.38 and a beta of 0.84. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $37.40 and its 200 day simple moving average is $34.96. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.20, a current ratio of 0.98 and a quick ratio of 0.98. WaFd has a fifty-two week low of $26.31 and a fifty-two week high of $39.49.

WaFd (NASDAQ:WAFD) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, July 17th. The bank reported $0.81 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.82 by ($0.01). WaFd had a return on equity of 8.98% and a net margin of 18.47%.The business had revenue of $205.52 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $199.56 million. On average, analysts predict that WaFd will post 3.21 EPS for the current year.

WaFd Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 4th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 21st will be paid a $0.27 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 21st. This represents a $1.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.0%. WaFd’s dividend payout ratio is 34.07%.

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.