WaFd, Inc. (NASDAQ:WAFD) Stock Now Rated "Moderate Buy" by Wall Street Analysts

Key Points

• Analyst consensus is “Moderate Buy” for WaFd, with one buy, one strong buy and three hold ratings. The average 12-month price target is $35.25, though several analysts recently lowered targets.
• WaFd shares opened at $29.51, with a market capitalization of approximately $2.18 billion and a P/E ratio of 9.31. Its latest quarterly earnings of $0.81 per share narrowly missed estimates, while revenue exceeded expectations.
• The company pays a quarterly dividend of $0.27 per share, equivalent to $1.08 annually and a 3.7% yield. Institutional investors own 83.71% of the stock.

WaFd, Inc. (NASDAQ:WAFD - Get Free Report) has earned an average recommendation of "Moderate Buy" from the five brokerages that are presently covering the stock, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, one has given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. The average 1-year price objective among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $35.25.

WAFD has been the subject of several research analyst reports. DA Davidson dropped their price target on shares of WaFd from $40.00 to $37.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, September 9th. Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of WaFd from a "buy (b)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a research note on Thursday, September 3rd. Zacks Research upgraded shares of WaFd from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Monday, October 5th. Finally, Piper Sandler decreased their price target on shares of WaFd from $36.00 to $32.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, October 1st.

WaFd Trading Up 0.3%

NASDAQ WAFD opened at $29.51 on Tuesday. WaFd has a 12 month low of $26.31 and a 12 month high of $39.49. The company has a 50-day moving average of $34.16 and a 200-day moving average of $35.08. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.20, a current ratio of 0.98 and a quick ratio of 0.98. The company has a market cap of $2.18 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.31 and a beta of 0.89.

WaFd (NASDAQ:WAFD - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, July 17th. The bank reported $0.81 earnings per share 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 company had revenue of $205.52 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $199.56 million. As a group, equities analysts predict that WaFd will post 3.22 earnings per share for the current year.

WaFd Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 4th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 21st were issued a dividend of $0.27 per share. This represents a $1.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.7%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 21st. WaFd's dividend payout ratio is presently 34.07%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in WAFD. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC purchased a new stake in shares of WaFd during the 2nd quarter worth about $26,000. Assetmark Inc. increased its position in WaFd by 3,620.0% during the 1st quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 930 shares of the bank's stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 905 shares in the last quarter. Nykredit A S purchased a new position in WaFd in the second quarter valued at approximately $52,000. iSAM Funds UK Ltd purchased a new position in WaFd in the second quarter valued at approximately $230,000. Finally, Empirical Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in WaFd in the second quarter valued at approximately $245,000. 83.71% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About WaFd

WaFd, Inc is a bank holding company headquartered in Seattle, Washington, and the parent company of WaFd Bank. Founded in 1917 as Washington Federal, the company adopted the WaFd name in 2024. WaFd Bank provides banking and financial services to individuals, families, businesses and nonprofit organizations.

The bank offers deposit accounts, residential mortgage lending, home equity financing, commercial real estate loans, commercial and industrial lending, construction financing and consumer banking products.

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