WaFd, Inc. (NASDAQ:WAFD) Short Interest Update

Key Points

• Short interest for WaFd, Inc. surged by 2,269,900.0% in July, reaching a total of 2,270,000 shares, indicating significant market activity and potential investor concern.
• Analysts have shown confidence in WaFd's performance, with several raising their price targets and assigning "hold" ratings based on recent earnings exceeding expectations.
• WaFd announced a quarterly dividend of $0.27 per share, yielding approximately 3.8%, reinforcing the company's commitment to returning value to shareholders.

WaFd, Inc. (NASDAQ:WAFD - Get Free Report) was the target of a significant increase in short interest in the month of July. As of July 15th, there was short interest totaling 2,270,000 shares, anincreaseof2,269,900.0% from the June 30th total of 100 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 507,800 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 4.5 days. Based on an average trading volume of 507,800 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 4.5 days.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On WaFd

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in WAFD. Brooklyn Investment Group purchased a new position in WaFd in the 1st quarter worth $28,000. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd grew its holdings in WaFd by 983.5% in the 4th quarter. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd now owns 1,116 shares of the bank's stock worth $36,000 after acquiring an additional 1,013 shares during the last quarter. TD Private Client Wealth LLC grew its holdings in WaFd by 35.2% in the 1st quarter. TD Private Client Wealth LLC now owns 2,002 shares of the bank's stock worth $57,000 after acquiring an additional 521 shares during the last quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd grew its holdings in WaFd by 232.4% in the 1st quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd now owns 1,978 shares of the bank's stock worth $57,000 after acquiring an additional 1,383 shares during the last quarter. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC grew its holdings in WaFd by 83.0% in the 2nd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,597 shares of the bank's stock worth $76,000 after acquiring an additional 1,178 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.71% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

WAFD has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price objective on shares of WaFd from $30.00 to $32.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a research report on Monday, July 21st. Piper Sandler lifted their price objective on shares of WaFd from $30.00 to $31.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Monday, July 21st. Stephens boosted their target price 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. DA Davidson upped their price objective on shares of WaFd from $29.00 to $33.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Monday, July 21st. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised shares of WaFd from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, July 18th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $32.25.

WaFd Stock Up 0.1%

WAFD stock traded up $0.04 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $29.45. The stock had a trading volume of 89,224 shares, compared to its average volume of 567,828. WaFd has a one year low of $23.75 and a one year high of $38.62. The company has a quick ratio of 1.02, a current ratio of 0.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71. The company's 50 day moving average is $29.39 and its two-hundred day moving average is $28.93. The company has a market capitalization of $2.36 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.22 and a beta of 0.90.

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

WaFd Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 6th. Investors of record on Friday, May 23rd were given a $0.27 dividend. This represents a $1.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.7%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 23rd. WaFd's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 41.06%.

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.