WaFd, Inc. (NASDAQ:WAFD) Sees Significant Increase in Short Interest

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) saw a large 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 daily volume of 507,800 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 4.5 days. Based on an average daily volume of 507,800 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 4.5 days.

Analyst Ratings Changes

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

WaFd Stock Performance

WAFD traded down $0.23 on Friday, hitting $28.87. 838,309 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 574,819. WaFd has a 52 week low of $23.75 and a 52 week high of $38.62. The company has a current ratio of 0.98, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.31 billion, a PE ratio of 10.98 and a beta of 0.90. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $29.37 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $28.95.

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

WaFd Announces Dividend

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

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of WAFD. KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS acquired a new position in shares of WaFd in the 4th quarter worth approximately $549,000. LPL Financial LLC lifted its holdings in WaFd by 16.5% during the 4th quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 47,174 shares of the bank's stock worth $1,521,000 after buying an additional 6,682 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in WaFd by 1.8% during the 4th 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 in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its holdings in WaFd by 152.9% during the 4th quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 469,704 shares of the bank's stock worth $15,143,000 after buying an additional 283,953 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank acquired a new position in WaFd during the 4th quarter worth $6,539,000. 83.71% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.