WaFd, Inc. (NASDAQ:WAFD) Stock Has Consensus Target Price of $32.50 According to Brokerages

Key Points

• WaFd has a consensus “Hold” rating from five analysts and an average 12-month price target of $32.50. Recent target revisions included cuts from Piper Sandler and Keefe, Bruyette & Woods.
• Analysts’ outlook has weakened: Zacks Research downgraded the stock to Hold and lowered its FY2028 EPS estimate to $3.32 from $3.53.
• WaFd’s latest quarter beat expectations, reporting EPS of $0.85 versus $0.84 expected and revenue of $220.44 million versus $203.66 million forecast. Its quarterly dividend is $0.27 per share, equivalent to a 3.7% annualized yield.

WaFd, Inc. (NASDAQ:WAFD - Get Free Report) has received an average recommendation of "Hold" from the five brokerages that are presently covering the firm, Marketbeat reports. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating. The average 12-month price target among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $32.50.

Several analysts have issued reports on the company. DA Davidson set a $31.00 target price on WaFd in a report on Monday, October 19th. Zacks Research lowered shares of WaFd from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday. Piper Sandler decreased their price target on shares of WaFd from $32.00 to $31.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, October 19th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their target price on shares of WaFd from $40.00 to $34.00 and set a "market perform" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, October 19th. Finally, Weiss Ratings lowered WaFd from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "hold (c+)" rating in a research note on Monday, October 19th.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On WaFd

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new position in shares of WaFd during the 2nd quarter worth $413,410,000. Bank of America Corp DE increased its position in shares of WaFd by 28.1% in the first quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 905,863 shares of the bank's stock worth $28,444,000 after purchasing an additional 198,728 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp bought a new position in WaFd during the second quarter worth $26,489,000. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its holdings in WaFd by 34.4% during the 1st quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 504,529 shares of the bank's stock valued at $15,842,000 after buying an additional 129,041 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Empowered Funds LLC purchased a new stake in WaFd in the second quarter worth $13,371,000. 83.71% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Key Stories Impacting WaFd

Here are the key news stories impacting WaFd this week:

• Negative Sentiment: Zacks reduced forecasts for multiple quarters in fiscal 2027 and 2028. Its FY2028 EPS estimate fell to $3.32 from $3.53, while several quarterly estimates were also lowered. WaFd earnings estimate revisions
• Negative Sentiment: Zacks Research recently downgraded WaFd from “Strong Buy” to “Hold,” reinforcing the more cautious outlook. Zacks Research ratings

WaFd Stock Performance

WAFD opened at $29.43 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $31.20 and a 200-day moving average of $33.87. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92, a quick ratio of 0.92 and a current ratio of 0.94. The company has a market cap of $2.18 billion, a PE ratio of 9.17 and a beta of 0.90. WaFd has a 52-week low of $28.10 and a 52-week high of $39.49.

WaFd (NASDAQ:WAFD - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 15th. The bank reported $0.85 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.84 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $220.44 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $203.66 million. WaFd had a net margin of 18.04% and a return on equity of 9.37%. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that WaFd will post 3.34 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

WaFd Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 4th. Investors of record on Friday, August 21st were paid a $0.27 dividend. This represents a $1.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 21st. WaFd's payout ratio is currently 33.64%.

WaFd Company Profile

WaFd, Inc NASDAQ: WAFD is the parent company of WaFd Bank, a regional financial institution that provides banking and lending services to individuals, families, businesses and real estate investors. The bank offers deposit accounts, checking and savings products, residential mortgages, home equity loans, commercial real estate financing, business loans and construction lending.

WaFd Bank also provides treasury management and cash-management services for businesses, along with personal and commercial banking solutions through its branch network and digital banking platforms.

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