Zacks Research Has Bullish Estimate for WaFd FY2025 Earnings

Key Points

• Zacks Research has raised its FY2025 earnings per share estimate for WaFd to $2.72, up from $2.61, exceeding the current consensus estimate of $2.56.
• Multiple analysts have upgraded their ratings and target prices for WaFd, with a current average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $32.25.
• WaFd recently announced a quarterly dividend of $0.27, yielding 3.7%, with a payout ratio of approximately 41.06%.

WaFd, Inc. (NASDAQ:WAFD - Free Report) - Equities researchers at Zacks Research upped their FY2025 earnings per share (EPS) estimates for shares of WaFd in a research report issued on Wednesday, August 6th. Zacks Research analyst R. Department now anticipates that the bank will earn $2.72 per share for the year, up from their prior forecast of $2.61. The consensus estimate for WaFd's current full-year earnings is $2.56 per share. Zacks Research also issued estimates for WaFd's Q4 2025 earnings at $0.72 EPS, Q1 2026 earnings at $0.73 EPS and Q2 2027 earnings at $0.83 EPS.

Several other brokerages have also issued reports on WAFD. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their target price on WaFd from $30.00 to $32.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a research report on Monday, July 21st. DA Davidson increased their price objective on WaFd from $29.00 to $33.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Monday, July 21st. Stephens increased their price objective 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 increased their price objective on WaFd from $30.00 to $31.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Monday, July 21st. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised WaFd from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, July 18th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, Based on data from MarketBeat, WaFd currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $32.25.

WaFd Stock Up 1.3%

NASDAQ:WAFD traded up $0.37 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $29.76. 363,638 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 601,340. The company has a fifty day moving average of $29.46 and a 200 day moving average of $28.93. WaFd has a twelve month low of $23.75 and a twelve month high of $38.62. The company has a market capitalization of $2.34 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.32 and a beta of 0.90. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a current ratio of 0.98.

WaFd (NASDAQ:WAFD - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, July 17th. The bank reported $0.73 earnings per share (EPS) 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.

WaFd Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 6th. Investors of record on Friday, May 23rd were issued a dividend of $0.27 per share. This represents a $1.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 23rd. WaFd's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 41.06%.

Institutional Trading of WaFd

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its holdings in WaFd by 3.1% during the first quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 461,593 shares of the bank's stock worth $13,192,000 after acquiring an additional 13,972 shares during the period. KBC Group NV grew its holdings in WaFd by 12.7% during the first quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 4,239 shares of the bank's stock worth $121,000 after acquiring an additional 477 shares during the period. LPL Financial LLC grew its holdings in WaFd by 16.5% during the fourth quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 47,174 shares of the bank's stock worth $1,521,000 after acquiring an additional 6,682 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its holdings in WaFd by 152.9% during the fourth quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 469,704 shares of the bank's stock worth $15,143,000 after acquiring an additional 283,953 shares during the period. Finally, Vest Financial LLC acquired a new stake in WaFd during the first quarter worth about $708,000. 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.