WaFd, Inc. (NASDAQ:WAFD) Given Consensus Recommendation of "Hold" by Brokerages

Key Points

• WaFd, Inc. has received a consensus rating of "Hold" from five research firms, with the average 12-month price target set at $32.25.
• The company reported $0.73 earnings per share for the latest quarter, surpassing analysts' expectations of $0.67.
• WaFd recently declared a quarterly dividend of $0.27 per share, resulting in an annualized dividend of $1.08 and a dividend yield of 3.6%.

WaFd, Inc. (NASDAQ:WAFD - Get Free Report) has been given a consensus rating of "Hold" by the five research firms that are covering the company, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating. The average 12-month price objective among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $32.25.

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on WAFD shares. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "hold (c)" rating on shares of WaFd in a report on Saturday, September 27th. Stephens boosted their price target on shares of WaFd from $32.00 to $33.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Monday, July 21st. Piper Sandler upped their target price on shares of WaFd from $30.00 to $31.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Monday, July 21st. DA Davidson upped their target price 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 upgraded shares of WaFd from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, July 18th.

WaFd Stock Performance

WAFD traded up $0.07 on Friday, reaching $29.97. The company had a trading volume of 610,172 shares, compared to its average volume of 538,847. WaFd has a 1 year low of $23.75 and a 1 year high of $38.62. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.36 billion, a PE ratio of 11.40 and a beta of 0.88. The company has a quick ratio of 0.98, a current ratio of 0.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $30.72 and a 200-day moving average price of $29.38.

WaFd (NASDAQ:WAFD - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 17th. The bank reported $0.73 earnings per share 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 firm had revenue of $186.26 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $184.47 million. As a group, research analysts forecast that WaFd will post 2.56 EPS for the current fiscal year.

WaFd Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 5th. Investors of record on Friday, August 22nd were paid a dividend of $0.27 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 22nd. This represents a $1.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.6%. WaFd's dividend payout ratio is presently 41.06%.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Sean Singleton sold 1,004 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, September 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $31.71, for a total transaction of $31,836.84. Following the transaction, the director owned 9,278 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $294,205.38. This represents a 9.76% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Insiders own 1.46% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On WaFd

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of WAFD. Millennium Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of WaFd during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $950,000. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its stake in WaFd by 2,337.2% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 40,555 shares of the bank's stock worth $1,159,000 after purchasing an additional 38,891 shares during the period. Rhumbline Advisers raised its stake in WaFd by 2.6% during the first quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 236,909 shares of the bank's stock worth $6,771,000 after purchasing an additional 6,068 shares during the period. Vest Financial LLC purchased a new position in WaFd during the first quarter worth approximately $708,000. Finally, SG Americas Securities LLC raised its stake in WaFd by 270.4% during the first quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 37,379 shares of the bank's stock worth $1,068,000 after purchasing an additional 27,288 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.71% of the company's stock.

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.

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