WaFd (NASDAQ:WAFD) Stock Price Expected to Rise, Piper Sandler Analyst Says

WaFd (NASDAQ:WAFD - Free Report) had its price target boosted by Piper Sandler from $30.00 to $31.00 in a research note published on Monday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a neutral rating on the bank's stock.

A number of other analysts have also recently commented on WAFD. Wall Street Zen upgraded WaFd from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, July 18th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their price target on WaFd from $32.00 to $30.00 and set a "market perform" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 16th. Finally, Stephens upped their price objective on WaFd from $32.00 to $33.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Monday. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, According to MarketBeat, WaFd presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $32.25.

WaFd Stock Performance

WaFd stock traded down $0.29 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $29.94. 163,009 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 568,953. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.40 billion, a PE ratio of 11.38 and a beta of 0.84. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71, a current ratio of 0.98 and a quick ratio of 1.02. WaFd has a 12-month low of $23.75 and a 12-month high of $38.62. The business's 50-day moving average is $29.36 and its 200-day moving average is $29.08.

WaFd (NASDAQ:WAFD - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 17th. The bank reported $0.73 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.67 by $0.06. The company had revenue of $186.26 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $184.47 million. WaFd had a return on equity of 8.57% and a net margin of 15.57%. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that WaFd will post 2.56 EPS for the current fiscal year.

WaFd Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 6th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 23rd were given a dividend of $0.27 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 23rd. This represents a $1.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.61%. WaFd's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 41.06%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On WaFd

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of WaFd by 1.8% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 9,420,004 shares of the bank's stock worth $303,701,000 after buying an additional 166,931 shares during the period. Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of WaFd by 1.2% in the fourth quarter. Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. now owns 3,696,480 shares of the bank's stock worth $119,175,000 after buying an additional 42,096 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. raised its holdings in shares of WaFd by 9.8% in the first quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 1,948,534 shares of the bank's stock worth $55,689,000 after buying an additional 174,453 shares during the period. Systematic Financial Management LP raised its holdings in shares of WaFd by 1.7% in the first quarter. Systematic Financial Management LP now owns 1,531,327 shares of the bank's stock worth $43,765,000 after buying an additional 24,959 shares during the period. Finally, Invesco Ltd. raised its holdings in shares of WaFd by 124.3% in the first quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,107,097 shares of the bank's stock worth $31,641,000 after buying an additional 613,596 shares during the period. 83.71% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

WaFd Company Profile

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.