WaFd (NASDAQ:WAFD) Sees Large Volume Increase - Still a Buy?

Key Points

• Analyst sentiment has weakened: WaFd’s average rating is now “Hold,” with four analysts at Hold and one at Buy; the consensus price target is $37 versus the stock’s latest price of $35.63.
• Quarterly results were mixed: The bank reported EPS of $0.81, slightly below the $0.82 consensus, while revenue of $205.52 million exceeded expectations. Analysts forecast full-year EPS of $3.23.
• Income and institutional support remain notable: WaFd maintains a $0.27 quarterly dividend, equivalent to a 3.1% yield, while institutional investors own 83.71% of shares.

WaFd, Inc. (NASDAQ:WAFD - Get Free Report) saw an uptick in trading volume on Tuesday . Approximately 418,670 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 31% from the previous session's volume of 605,402 shares.The stock last traded at $35.6260 and had previously closed at $36.30.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have commented on the stock. Weiss Ratings cut shares of WaFd from a "buy (b)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a research note on Thursday. DA Davidson raised their price objective on WaFd from $38.00 to $40.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Monday, July 20th. Finally, Zacks Research cut WaFd from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, June 22nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, WaFd currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $37.00.

WaFd Price Performance

The company has a current ratio of 0.98, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.20. The company has a market capitalization of $2.58 billion, a PE ratio of 11.03 and a beta of 0.83. The stock's 50-day moving average is $37.19 and its two-hundred day moving average is $35.10.

WaFd (NASDAQ:WAFD - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Friday, July 17th. The bank reported $0.81 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.82 by ($0.01). WaFd had a net margin of 18.47% and a return on equity of 8.98%. The business had revenue of $205.52 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $199.56 million. On average, equities analysts predict that WaFd, Inc. will post 3.23 EPS for the current year.

WaFd Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 4th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 21st were given a $0.27 dividend. This represents a $1.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 21st. WaFd's dividend payout ratio is 34.07%.

Institutional Trading of WaFd

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System purchased a new position in WaFd in the 1st quarter worth about $1,055,000. Bank of America Corp DE boosted its position in WaFd by 28.1% in the 1st 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. BlackRock Inc. bought a new position in WaFd in the 2nd quarter worth about $413,410,000. Jupiter Topco LLC bought a new position in WaFd in the 2nd quarter worth about $1,315,000. Finally, The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company purchased a new position in shares of WaFd during the second quarter worth approximately $1,417,000. 83.71% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

WaFd Company Profile

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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.