Keefe, Bruyette & Woods Lowers WaFd (NASDAQ:WAFD) Price Target to $31.00

Key Points

• Keefe, Bruyette & Woods has lowered the price target for WaFd (NASDAQ:WAFD) from $32.00 to $31.00, while maintaining a "market perform" rating.
• WaFd's recent earnings report revealed that the bank missed analysts' expectations, posting $0.72 earnings per share against an expected $0.75.
• Recent analyst ratings show mixed responses, with five analysts rating WaFd as a "Hold" and target prices ranging from $29.00 to $33.00.

WaFd (NASDAQ:WAFD - Get Free Report) had its target price lowered by equities researchers at Keefe, Bruyette & Woods from $32.00 to $31.00 in a note issued to investors on Monday,Benzinga reports. The firm presently has a "market perform" rating on the bank's stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods' target price indicates a potential upside of 10.44% from the company's current price.

A number of other equities research analysts have also weighed in on WAFD. DA Davidson boosted their target price on shares of WaFd from $29.00 to $33.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Monday, July 21st. Piper Sandler boosted their target price on shares of WaFd from $30.00 to $31.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Monday, July 21st. Stephens boosted their price objective on shares of WaFd from $32.00 to $33.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Monday, July 21st. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of WaFd from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Saturday. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a "hold (c)" rating on shares of WaFd in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating, According to MarketBeat, WaFd has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $32.00.

WaFd Price Performance

Shares of WAFD opened at $28.07 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $2.21 billion, a PE ratio of 10.63 and a beta of 0.88. The company has a current ratio of 0.96, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $30.63 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $29.44. WaFd has a 1-year low of $23.75 and a 1-year high of $38.62.

WaFd (NASDAQ:WAFD - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, October 16th. The bank reported $0.72 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.75 by ($0.03). The company had revenue of $190.55 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $191.04 million. WaFd had a net margin of 16.02% and a return on equity of 8.40%. On average, equities analysts anticipate that WaFd will post 2.56 EPS for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Sean Singleton sold 1,004 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, September 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $31.71, for a total value of $31,836.84. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 9,278 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $294,205.38. This represents a 9.76% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Corporate insiders own 1.46% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. MetLife Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in WaFd by 1,576.8% in the 1st quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC now owns 683,003 shares of the bank's stock worth $19,520,000 after purchasing an additional 642,270 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. lifted its stake in WaFd by 124.3% in the 1st quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,107,097 shares of the bank's stock worth $31,641,000 after purchasing an additional 613,596 shares in the last quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership purchased a new stake in WaFd in the 2nd quarter worth $7,666,000. Nuveen LLC purchased a new stake in WaFd in the 1st quarter worth $5,093,000. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. lifted its stake in WaFd by 9.8% in the 1st quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 1,948,534 shares of the bank's stock worth $55,689,000 after purchasing an additional 174,453 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 83.71% of the company's stock.

About WaFd

WaFd, Inc operates as the bank holding company for Washington Federal Bank that provides lending, depository, insurance, and other banking services in the United States. The company offers deposit products, including business and personal checking accounts, and term certificates of deposit, as well as money market accounts and passbook savings accounts.

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