Wall Street Zen Downgrades WaFd (NASDAQ:WAFD) to Sell

Key Points

• Wall Street Zen has downgraded WaFd (NASDAQ:WAFD) from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating, indicating a shift in analysts' sentiment towards the stock.
• Despite the downgrade, several other analysts, including Keefe, Bruyette & Woods and DA Davidson, have set higher price targets for WaFd, reflecting mixed opinions on its future performance.
• WaFd recently reported a quarterly earnings miss, with earnings per share of $0.72 falling short of the consensus estimate of $0.75, alongside a revenue of $190.55 million.

WaFd (NASDAQ:WAFD - Get Free Report) was downgraded by research analysts at Wall Street Zen from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Saturday.

A number of other research analysts also recently issued reports on the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price objective on WaFd from $30.00 to $32.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a research note on Monday, July 21st. DA Davidson boosted their price objective on WaFd from $29.00 to $33.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Monday, July 21st. Piper Sandler boosted their price objective on WaFd from $30.00 to $31.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Monday, July 21st. Weiss Ratings reiterated a "hold (c)" rating on shares of WaFd in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Finally, Stephens boosted their price objective on WaFd from $32.00 to $33.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Monday, July 21st. Five analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating, According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $32.25.

WaFd Trading Up 0.9%

WaFd stock opened at $28.07 on Friday. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $30.63 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $29.42. The company has a market cap of $2.21 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.63 and a beta of 0.88. WaFd has a 52-week low of $23.75 and a 52-week high of $38.62. The company has a quick ratio of 0.98, a current ratio of 0.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71.

WaFd (NASDAQ:WAFD - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 16th. The bank reported $0.72 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.75 by ($0.03). The firm had revenue of $190.55 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $191.04 million. WaFd had a net margin of 16.02% and a return on equity of 8.41%. Analysts predict that WaFd will post 2.56 EPS for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other WaFd news, Director Sean Singleton sold 1,004 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, September 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $31.71, for a total value of $31,836.84. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 9,278 shares in the company, valued at $294,205.38. This represents a 9.76% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 1.46% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Blue Trust Inc. boosted its stake in WaFd by 36.0% in the 3rd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,837 shares of the bank's stock worth $56,000 after purchasing an additional 486 shares during the period. CWM LLC raised its holdings in shares of WaFd by 9.7% during the 3rd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 26,643 shares of the bank's stock worth $807,000 after acquiring an additional 2,359 shares in the last quarter. Brighton Jones LLC raised its holdings in shares of WaFd by 7.7% during the 3rd quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 10,866 shares of the bank's stock worth $329,000 after acquiring an additional 779 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its holdings in shares of WaFd by 43.3% during the 3rd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 3,721 shares of the bank's stock worth $113,000 after acquiring an additional 1,124 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Orion Porfolio Solutions LLC raised its holdings in shares of WaFd by 3.5% during the 2nd quarter. Orion Porfolio Solutions LLC now owns 48,606 shares of the bank's stock worth $1,423,000 after acquiring an additional 1,630 shares in the last quarter. 83.71% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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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