Short Interest in WaFd, Inc (NASDAQ:WAFD) Rises By 20.8%

WaFd, Inc (NASDAQ:WAFD - Get Free Report) saw a significant increase in short interest during the month of April. As of April 15th, there was short interest totalling 2,850,000 shares, an increase of 20.8% from the March 31st total of 2,360,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 604,400 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 4.7 days. Approximately 3.5% of the company's shares are short sold.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently weighed in on WAFD. DA Davidson lowered shares of WaFd from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and reduced their price objective for the stock from $35.00 to $32.00 in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Stephens reaffirmed an "equal weight" rating and set a $29.00 target price on shares of WaFd in a report on Monday, April 14th. StockNews.com raised WaFd from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, April 12th. Piper Sandler decreased their target price on shares of WaFd from $37.00 to $31.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their price target on shares of WaFd from $32.00 to $30.00 and set a "market perform" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 16th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $30.50.

WaFd Price Performance

WAFD traded up $0.65 on Thursday, hitting $29.25. 233,976 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 526,243. The company has a current ratio of 1.04, a quick ratio of 1.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.05. WaFd has a one year low of $23.75 and a one year high of $38.62. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $27.82 and its 200-day simple moving average is $31.21. The firm has a market cap of $2.39 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.48 and a beta of 0.85.

WaFd (NASDAQ:WAFD - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Friday, April 11th. The bank reported $0.65 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.60 by $0.05. The business had revenue of $179.79 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $184.17 million. WaFd had a return on equity of 8.78% and a net margin of 12.66%. As a group, research analysts anticipate that WaFd will post 2.56 EPS for the current year.

WaFd Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 7th. Investors of record on Friday, February 21st were given a dividend of $0.27 per share. This is a boost from WaFd's previous quarterly dividend of $0.26. This represents a $1.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.69%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 21st. WaFd's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 40.75%.

Institutional Trading of WaFd

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. CIBC Asset Management Inc boosted its holdings in WaFd by 4.8% during the fourth quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 7,424 shares of the bank's stock worth $239,000 after buying an additional 338 shares in the last quarter. Cooper Financial Group increased its position in WaFd by 3.2% during the fourth quarter. Cooper Financial Group now owns 11,134 shares of the bank's stock worth $359,000 after buying an additional 345 shares in the last quarter. Harbour Investments Inc. raised its stake in WaFd by 29.6% in the 4th quarter. Harbour Investments Inc. now owns 1,752 shares of the bank's stock valued at $56,000 after purchasing an additional 400 shares during the last quarter. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co grew its stake in WaFd by 0.4% in the 4th quarter. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co now owns 98,124 shares of the bank's stock worth $3,162,000 after acquiring an additional 433 shares during the period. Finally, Summit Investment Advisors Inc. increased its stake in WaFd by 6.9% in the fourth quarter. Summit Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 6,987 shares of the bank's stock valued at $225,000 after purchasing an additional 450 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.71% of the company's stock.

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.