WaFd (NASDAQ:WAFD) Hits New 12-Month High – Here’s Why

WaFd, Inc. (NASDAQ:WAFD)’s share price reached a new 52-week high on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $38.90 and last traded at $38.7150, with a volume of 77355 shares. The stock had previously closed at $38.37.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have commented on WAFD shares. Weiss Ratings raised WaFd from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research report on Friday, May 22nd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price objective on WaFd from $35.00 to $38.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Monday, April 20th. Zacks Research cut WaFd from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, June 22nd. Finally, Piper Sandler upped their target price on WaFd from $30.50 to $36.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, April 20th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $34.80.

WaFd Price Performance

The business’s 50 day moving average price is $35.86 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $33.60. The stock has a market cap of $2.89 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.78 and a beta of 0.84. 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 (NASDAQ:WAFD) last announced its quarterly 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 analysts’ expectations of $190.51 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.17 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that WaFd, Inc. will post 3.27 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

WaFd Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 5th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 22nd were issued a dividend of $0.27 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 22nd. This represents a $1.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.8%. WaFd’s dividend payout ratio is 35.29%.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Kim E. Robison sold 22,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, April 24th. The stock was 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 approximately $4,095,972.72. This represents a 15.93% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 1.49% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On WaFd

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in WAFD. Bank of America Corp DE lifted its position in WaFd by 28.1% during the first quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 905,863 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $28,444,000 after buying an additional 198,728 shares during the period. Amundi grew its position in shares of WaFd by 9.4% in the 1st quarter. Amundi now owns 12,668 shares of the bank’s stock worth $398,000 after buying an additional 1,093 shares during the period. California State Teachers Retirement System increased its stake in shares of WaFd by 25.3% in the 1st quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 91,503 shares of the bank’s stock worth $2,873,000 after acquiring an additional 18,484 shares in the last quarter. Royal Bank of Canada lifted its position in WaFd by 39.6% during the 1st quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 15,506 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $487,000 after acquiring an additional 4,401 shares during the period. Finally, Quantinno Capital Management LP lifted its position in WaFd by 6.9% during the 1st quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP now owns 37,004 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $1,162,000 after acquiring an additional 2,402 shares during the period. 83.71% of the stock is 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.