WaFd, Inc. (NASDAQ:WAFD) Given Average Recommendation of "Hold" by Analysts

Key Points

• Analyst consensus: Five analysts rate WaFd as a "Hold" with an average 12‑month price target of $32.90, after mixed updates including Piper Sandler cutting its target to $30.50 and others setting targets near $34.00.
• Recent results showed a slight EPS miss (Q4 EPS $0.75 vs. $0.76 estimate) and revenue below expectations; the stock trades at a P/E of 10.93 with a $2.4 billion market cap and pays a $0.27 quarterly dividend (3.4% yield).
• Insider activity and ownership: an EVP sold 5,300 shares in February, and institutional investors hold roughly 83.7% of the company’s stock.

WaFd, Inc. (NASDAQ:WAFD - Get Free Report) has been assigned a consensus rating of "Hold" from the five ratings firms that are currently covering the company, Marketbeat reports. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating. The average 12-month price objective among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $32.90.

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on WAFD. Weiss Ratings reiterated a "hold (c+)" rating on shares of WaFd in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Piper Sandler dropped their price target on WaFd from $33.50 to $30.50 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 20th. Royal Bank Of Canada set a $34.00 price target on shares of WaFd in a report on Tuesday, January 20th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price objective on shares of WaFd from $31.00 to $34.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 20th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised shares of WaFd from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Sunday, February 8th.

WaFd Stock Performance

Shares of WAFD stock opened at $31.59 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $2.40 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.93 and a beta of 0.85. WaFd has a fifty-two week low of $23.75 and a fifty-two week high of $34.29. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89, a quick ratio of 0.95 and a current ratio of 0.95. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $32.10 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $31.51.

WaFd (NASDAQ:WAFD - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 16th. The bank reported $0.75 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.76 by ($0.01). The firm had revenue of $188.32 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $193.36 million. WaFd had a net margin of 17.45% and a return on equity of 8.67%. Analysts expect that WaFd will post 2.56 earnings per share for the current year.

WaFd Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 27th. Investors of record on Friday, February 13th were paid a $0.27 dividend. This represents a $1.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 13th. WaFd's dividend payout ratio is presently 37.37%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other WaFd news, EVP Cathy E. Cooper sold 5,300 shares of WaFd stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $33.77, for a total transaction of $178,981.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 94,755 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,199,876.35. The trade was a 5.30% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 1.49% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On WaFd

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in WAFD. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its position in shares of WaFd by 0.5% during the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 4,980,089 shares of the bank's stock valued at $159,514,000 after acquiring an additional 26,000 shares in the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. lifted its position in WaFd by 2.0% in the 3rd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 2,077,059 shares of the bank's stock valued at $62,914,000 after acquiring an additional 40,569 shares in the last quarter. Systematic Financial Management LP lifted its position in WaFd by 0.5% in the 4th quarter. Systematic Financial Management LP now owns 1,557,436 shares of the bank's stock valued at $49,885,000 after acquiring an additional 8,039 shares in the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. boosted its stake in WaFd by 11.8% during the 3rd quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 1,375,110 shares of the bank's stock valued at $41,652,000 after purchasing an additional 145,646 shares during the last quarter. Finally, William Blair Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in WaFd by 14.3% during the 3rd quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC now owns 1,100,312 shares of the bank's stock valued at $33,328,000 after purchasing an additional 137,525 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 83.71% of the company's stock.

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.

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