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WaFd (WAFD) Competitors

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$29.51 +0.08 (+0.27%)
Closing price 10/12/2026 04:00 PM Eastern
Extended Trading
$29.68 +0.17 (+0.59%)
As of 04:49 AM Eastern
Extended trading is trading that happens on electronic markets outside of regular trading hours. This is a fair market value extended hours price provided by Massive. Learn more.

WAFD vs. CATY, FFBC, FULT, HWC, and STBA

Should you buy WaFd stock or one of its competitors? WaFd's main competitors and comparable companies include Cathay General Bancorp (CATY), First Financial Bancorp. (FFBC), Fulton Financial (FULT), Hancock Whitney (HWC), and S&T Bancorp (STBA). Companies are selected based on similarities in market, industry, and size. These companies are all part of the "regional banks" industry.

How does WaFd compare to Cathay General Bancorp?

Cathay General Bancorp (NASDAQ:CATY) and WaFd (NASDAQ:WAFD) are both mid-cap finance companies, but which is the better investment? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their institutional ownership, analyst recommendations, dividends, profitability, media sentiment, risk, earnings and valuation.

In the previous week, WaFd had 8 more articles in the media than Cathay General Bancorp. MarketBeat recorded 11 mentions for WaFd and 3 mentions for Cathay General Bancorp. Cathay General Bancorp's average media sentiment score of 0.99 beat WaFd's score of 0.68 indicating that Cathay General Bancorp is being referred to more favorably in the media.

Company Very Positive Positive Neutral Negative Very Negative Overall Sentiment
Cathay General Bancorp
1 Very Positive mention(s)
0 Positive mention(s)
1 Neutral mention(s)
0 Negative mention(s)
0 Very Negative mention(s)
Positive
WaFd
2 Very Positive mention(s)
1 Positive mention(s)
5 Neutral mention(s)
0 Negative mention(s)
0 Very Negative mention(s)
Positive

Cathay General Bancorp presently has a consensus price target of $62.25, indicating a potential upside of 4.52%. WaFd has a consensus price target of $35.25, indicating a potential upside of 19.45%. Given WaFd's stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, analysts clearly believe WaFd is more favorable than Cathay General Bancorp.

Company Sell Ratings Hold Ratings Buy Ratings Strong Buy Ratings Rating Score
Cathay General Bancorp
1 Sell rating(s)
5 Hold rating(s)
1 Buy rating(s)
0 Strong Buy rating(s)
2.00
WaFd
0 Sell rating(s)
3 Hold rating(s)
1 Buy rating(s)
1 Strong Buy rating(s)
2.60

Cathay General Bancorp has higher revenue and earnings than WaFd. WaFd is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Cathay General Bancorp, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

CompanyGross RevenuePrice/Sales RatioNet IncomeEarnings Per SharePrice/Earnings Ratio
Cathay General Bancorp$1.38B2.87$315.12M$5.1211.63
WaFd$782.48M2.79$226.07M$3.179.31

75.0% of Cathay General Bancorp shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 83.7% of WaFd shares are held by institutional investors. 4.5% of Cathay General Bancorp shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 1.5% of WaFd shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, large money managers and endowments believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Cathay General Bancorp has a net margin of 24.66% compared to WaFd's net margin of 18.47%. Cathay General Bancorp's return on equity of 11.71% beat WaFd's return on equity.

Company Net Margins Return on Equity Return on Assets
Cathay General Bancorp24.66% 11.71% 1.43%
WaFd 18.47%8.98%0.89%

Cathay General Bancorp has a beta of 0.89, indicating that its stock price is 11% less volatile than the broader market. Comparatively, WaFd has a beta of 0.89, indicating that its stock price is 11% less volatile than the broader market.

Cathay General Bancorp pays an annual dividend of $1.52 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.6%. WaFd pays an annual dividend of $1.08 per share and has a dividend yield of 3.7%. Cathay General Bancorp pays out 29.7% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. WaFd pays out 34.1% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Both companies have healthy payout ratios and should be able to cover their dividend payments with earnings for the next several years. WaFd has increased its dividend for 2 consecutive years. WaFd is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and longer track record of dividend growth.

Summary

Cathay General Bancorp beats WaFd on 11 of the 18 factors compared between the two stocks.

How does WaFd compare to First Financial Bancorp.?

WaFd (NASDAQ:WAFD) and First Financial Bancorp. (NASDAQ:FFBC) are both mid-cap finance companies, but which is the better business? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their analyst recommendations, media sentiment, earnings, dividends, valuation, institutional ownership, profitability and risk.

WaFd currently has a consensus price target of $35.25, suggesting a potential upside of 19.45%. First Financial Bancorp. has a consensus price target of $34.00, suggesting a potential upside of 9.29%. Given WaFd's higher probable upside, equities research analysts plainly believe WaFd is more favorable than First Financial Bancorp..

Company Sell Ratings Hold Ratings Buy Ratings Strong Buy Ratings Rating Score
WaFd
0 Sell rating(s)
3 Hold rating(s)
1 Buy rating(s)
1 Strong Buy rating(s)
2.60
First Financial Bancorp.
0 Sell rating(s)
3 Hold rating(s)
5 Buy rating(s)
0 Strong Buy rating(s)
2.63

In the previous week, WaFd had 10 more articles in the media than First Financial Bancorp.. MarketBeat recorded 11 mentions for WaFd and 1 mentions for First Financial Bancorp.. First Financial Bancorp.'s average media sentiment score of 1.79 beat WaFd's score of 0.68 indicating that First Financial Bancorp. is being referred to more favorably in the news media.

Company Overall Sentiment
WaFd Positive
First Financial Bancorp. Very Positive

WaFd pays an annual dividend of $1.08 per share and has a dividend yield of 3.7%. First Financial Bancorp. pays an annual dividend of $1.04 per share and has a dividend yield of 3.3%. WaFd pays out 34.1% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. First Financial Bancorp. pays out 36.7% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Both companies have healthy payout ratios and should be able to cover their dividend payments with earnings for the next several years. WaFd has increased its dividend for 2 consecutive years and First Financial Bancorp. has increased its dividend for 1 consecutive years. WaFd is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and longer track record of dividend growth.

83.7% of WaFd shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 77.2% of First Financial Bancorp. shares are held by institutional investors. 1.5% of WaFd shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 1.1% of First Financial Bancorp. shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, large money managers and hedge funds believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

WaFd has a beta of 0.89, suggesting that its share price is 11% less volatile than the broader market. Comparatively, First Financial Bancorp. has a beta of 0.93, suggesting that its share price is 7% less volatile than the broader market.

First Financial Bancorp. has a net margin of 20.77% compared to WaFd's net margin of 18.47%. First Financial Bancorp.'s return on equity of 11.13% beat WaFd's return on equity.

Company Net Margins Return on Equity Return on Assets
WaFd18.47% 8.98% 0.89%
First Financial Bancorp. 20.77%11.13%1.49%

First Financial Bancorp. has higher revenue and earnings than WaFd. WaFd is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than First Financial Bancorp., indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

CompanyGross RevenuePrice/Sales RatioNet IncomeEarnings Per SharePrice/Earnings Ratio
WaFd$782.48M2.79$226.07M$3.179.31
First Financial Bancorp.$1.26B2.59$255.60M$2.8310.99

Summary

WaFd and First Financial Bancorp. tied by winning 10 of the 20 factors compared between the two stocks.

How does WaFd compare to Fulton Financial?

WaFd (NASDAQ:WAFD) and Fulton Financial (NASDAQ:FULT) are both mid-cap finance companies, but which is the better business? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their valuation, media sentiment, risk, analyst recommendations, profitability, institutional ownership, dividends and earnings.

WaFd currently has a consensus target price of $35.25, suggesting a potential upside of 19.45%. Fulton Financial has a consensus target price of $24.75, suggesting a potential upside of 11.64%. Given WaFd's stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, analysts plainly believe WaFd is more favorable than Fulton Financial.

Company Sell Ratings Hold Ratings Buy Ratings Strong Buy Ratings Rating Score
WaFd
0 Sell rating(s)
3 Hold rating(s)
1 Buy rating(s)
1 Strong Buy rating(s)
2.60
Fulton Financial
0 Sell rating(s)
4 Hold rating(s)
1 Buy rating(s)
0 Strong Buy rating(s)
2.20

83.7% of WaFd shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 72.0% of Fulton Financial shares are owned by institutional investors. 1.5% of WaFd shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 0.0% of Fulton Financial shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, hedge funds and large money managers believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Fulton Financial has a net margin of 20.63% compared to WaFd's net margin of 18.47%. Fulton Financial's return on equity of 12.68% beat WaFd's return on equity.

Company Net Margins Return on Equity Return on Assets
WaFd18.47% 8.98% 0.89%
Fulton Financial 20.63%12.68%1.30%

WaFd has a beta of 0.89, meaning that its stock price is 11% less volatile than the broader market. Comparatively, Fulton Financial has a beta of 0.79, meaning that its stock price is 21% less volatile than the broader market.

Fulton Financial has higher revenue and earnings than WaFd. WaFd is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Fulton Financial, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

CompanyGross RevenuePrice/Sales RatioNet IncomeEarnings Per SharePrice/Earnings Ratio
WaFd$782.48M2.79$226.07M$3.179.31
Fulton Financial$1.89B2.24$391.61M$2.0910.61

In the previous week, Fulton Financial had 2 more articles in the media than WaFd. MarketBeat recorded 13 mentions for Fulton Financial and 11 mentions for WaFd. WaFd's average media sentiment score of 0.68 beat Fulton Financial's score of 0.15 indicating that WaFd is being referred to more favorably in the media.

Company Very Positive Positive Neutral Negative Very Negative Overall Sentiment
WaFd
2 Very Positive mention(s)
1 Positive mention(s)
5 Neutral mention(s)
0 Negative mention(s)
0 Very Negative mention(s)
Positive
Fulton Financial
1 Very Positive mention(s)
4 Positive mention(s)
5 Neutral mention(s)
1 Negative mention(s)
0 Very Negative mention(s)
Neutral

WaFd pays an annual dividend of $1.08 per share and has a dividend yield of 3.7%. Fulton Financial pays an annual dividend of $0.76 per share and has a dividend yield of 3.4%. WaFd pays out 34.1% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Fulton Financial pays out 36.4% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Both companies have healthy payout ratios and should be able to cover their dividend payments with earnings for the next several years. WaFd has increased its dividend for 2 consecutive years and Fulton Financial has increased its dividend for 4 consecutive years. WaFd is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and lower payout ratio.

Summary

WaFd beats Fulton Financial on 11 of the 19 factors compared between the two stocks.

How does WaFd compare to Hancock Whitney?

WaFd (NASDAQ:WAFD) and Hancock Whitney (NASDAQ:HWC) are both mid-cap finance companies, but which is the superior business? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their profitability, media sentiment, dividends, earnings, risk, analyst recommendations, valuation and institutional ownership.

83.7% of WaFd shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 81.2% of Hancock Whitney shares are held by institutional investors. 1.5% of WaFd shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 0.9% of Hancock Whitney shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, hedge funds and endowments believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

WaFd has a beta of 0.89, suggesting that its stock price is 11% less volatile than the broader market. Comparatively, Hancock Whitney has a beta of 0.97, suggesting that its stock price is 3% less volatile than the broader market.

Hancock Whitney has a net margin of 21.81% compared to WaFd's net margin of 18.47%. Hancock Whitney's return on equity of 11.36% beat WaFd's return on equity.

Company Net Margins Return on Equity Return on Assets
WaFd18.47% 8.98% 0.89%
Hancock Whitney 21.81%11.36%1.41%

In the previous week, WaFd had 6 more articles in the media than Hancock Whitney. MarketBeat recorded 11 mentions for WaFd and 5 mentions for Hancock Whitney. Hancock Whitney's average media sentiment score of 0.72 beat WaFd's score of 0.68 indicating that Hancock Whitney is being referred to more favorably in the news media.

Company Very Positive Positive Neutral Negative Very Negative Overall Sentiment
WaFd
2 Very Positive mention(s)
1 Positive mention(s)
5 Neutral mention(s)
0 Negative mention(s)
0 Very Negative mention(s)
Positive
Hancock Whitney
1 Very Positive mention(s)
0 Positive mention(s)
3 Neutral mention(s)
0 Negative mention(s)
0 Very Negative mention(s)
Positive

WaFd pays an annual dividend of $1.08 per share and has a dividend yield of 3.7%. Hancock Whitney pays an annual dividend of $2.00 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.8%. WaFd pays out 34.1% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Hancock Whitney pays out 39.2% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Both companies have healthy payout ratios and should be able to cover their dividend payments with earnings for the next several years. WaFd has increased its dividend for 2 consecutive years and Hancock Whitney has increased its dividend for 3 consecutive years. WaFd is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and lower payout ratio.

WaFd currently has a consensus price target of $35.25, suggesting a potential upside of 19.45%. Hancock Whitney has a consensus price target of $84.56, suggesting a potential upside of 16.40%. Given WaFd's higher probable upside, equities research analysts plainly believe WaFd is more favorable than Hancock Whitney.

Company Sell Ratings Hold Ratings Buy Ratings Strong Buy Ratings Rating Score
WaFd
0 Sell rating(s)
3 Hold rating(s)
1 Buy rating(s)
1 Strong Buy rating(s)
2.60
Hancock Whitney
0 Sell rating(s)
3 Hold rating(s)
7 Buy rating(s)
1 Strong Buy rating(s)
2.82

Hancock Whitney has higher revenue and earnings than WaFd. WaFd is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Hancock Whitney, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

CompanyGross RevenuePrice/Sales RatioNet IncomeEarnings Per SharePrice/Earnings Ratio
WaFd$782.48M2.79$226.07M$3.179.31
Hancock Whitney$2.02B2.88$486.07M$5.1014.24

Summary

Hancock Whitney beats WaFd on 13 of the 19 factors compared between the two stocks.

How does WaFd compare to S&T Bancorp?

WaFd (NASDAQ:WAFD) and S&T Bancorp (NASDAQ:STBA) are both finance companies, but which is the superior investment? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their profitability, valuation, dividends, earnings, risk, media sentiment, analyst recommendations and institutional ownership.

WaFd has a beta of 0.89, suggesting that its stock price is 11% less volatile than the broader market. Comparatively, S&T Bancorp has a beta of 0.85, suggesting that its stock price is 15% less volatile than the broader market.

S&T Bancorp has a net margin of 24.51% compared to WaFd's net margin of 18.47%. S&T Bancorp's return on equity of 9.74% beat WaFd's return on equity.

Company Net Margins Return on Equity Return on Assets
WaFd18.47% 8.98% 0.89%
S&T Bancorp 24.51%9.74%1.42%

83.7% of WaFd shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 65.2% of S&T Bancorp shares are owned by institutional investors. 1.5% of WaFd shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 1.2% of S&T Bancorp shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, hedge funds and large money managers believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

WaFd presently has a consensus target price of $35.25, suggesting a potential upside of 19.45%. S&T Bancorp has a consensus target price of $51.60, suggesting a potential upside of 6.59%. Given WaFd's stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, research analysts clearly believe WaFd is more favorable than S&T Bancorp.

Company Sell Ratings Hold Ratings Buy Ratings Strong Buy Ratings Rating Score
WaFd
0 Sell rating(s)
3 Hold rating(s)
1 Buy rating(s)
1 Strong Buy rating(s)
2.60
S&T Bancorp
0 Sell rating(s)
6 Hold rating(s)
2 Buy rating(s)
0 Strong Buy rating(s)
2.25

WaFd pays an annual dividend of $1.08 per share and has a dividend yield of 3.7%. S&T Bancorp pays an annual dividend of $1.48 per share and has a dividend yield of 3.1%. WaFd pays out 34.1% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. S&T Bancorp pays out 39.4% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Both companies have healthy payout ratios and should be able to cover their dividend payments with earnings for the next several years. WaFd has raised its dividend for 2 consecutive years and S&T Bancorp has raised its dividend for 13 consecutive years. WaFd is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and lower payout ratio.

WaFd has higher revenue and earnings than S&T Bancorp. WaFd is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than S&T Bancorp, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

CompanyGross RevenuePrice/Sales RatioNet IncomeEarnings Per SharePrice/Earnings Ratio
WaFd$782.48M2.79$226.07M$3.179.31
S&T Bancorp$568.51M3.00$134.23M$3.7612.88

In the previous week, WaFd had 7 more articles in the media than S&T Bancorp. MarketBeat recorded 11 mentions for WaFd and 4 mentions for S&T Bancorp. WaFd's average media sentiment score of 0.68 beat S&T Bancorp's score of 0.18 indicating that WaFd is being referred to more favorably in the media.

Company Very Positive Positive Neutral Negative Very Negative Overall Sentiment
WaFd
2 Very Positive mention(s)
1 Positive mention(s)
5 Neutral mention(s)
0 Negative mention(s)
0 Very Negative mention(s)
Positive
S&T Bancorp
0 Very Positive mention(s)
0 Positive mention(s)
2 Neutral mention(s)
1 Negative mention(s)
0 Very Negative mention(s)
Neutral

Summary

WaFd beats S&T Bancorp on 12 of the 20 factors compared between the two stocks.

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New MarketBeat Followers Over Time

This chart shows the number of new MarketBeat users adding WAFD and its top 5 competitors to their watchlist. Each company is represented with a line over a 90 day period.
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Media Sentiment Over Time

This chart shows the average media sentiment of NASDAQ and its competitors over the past 90 days as caculated by MarketBeat. The averaged score is equivalent to the following: Very Negative Sentiment <= -1.5, Negative Sentiment > -1.5 and <= -0.5, Neutral Sentiment > -0.5 and < 0.5, Positive Sentiment >= 0.5 and < 1.5, and Very Positive Sentiment >= 1.5.
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WAFD vs. The Competition

MetricWaFdBanks IndustryFinance SectorNASDAQ Exchange
Market Cap$2.18B$22.64B$13.45B$13.27B
Dividend Yield3.63%3.15%6.08%20.72%
P/E Ratio9.3125.5324.7125.82
Price / Sales2.799.19487.2991.53
Price / Cash9.5414.6629.5336.12
Price / Book0.851.332.726.10
Net Income$226.07M$2.60B$1.32B$380.59M
7 Day Performance-1.37%-0.94%-0.60%-2.04%
1 Month Performance-12.90%-3.26%-2.59%-4.24%
1 Year Performance1.83%21.40%10.79%-1.55%

WaFd Competitors List

CompanyMarketRankShare PriceAnalysts' Price Target1Y Price PerformanceMarket CapRevenueP/E RatioEmployee CountIndicator(s)
WAFD
WaFd
4.4807 of 5 stars
$29.51
+0.3%
$35.25
+19.5%
+3.1%$2.18B$782.48M9.312,037
CATY
Cathay General Bancorp
3.1756 of 5 stars
$60.17
-0.5%
$62.25
+3.5%
+28.5%$4.02B$870.57M11.761,268
FFBC
First Financial Bancorp.
3.417 of 5 stars
$31.38
-0.4%
$34.00
+8.4%
+27.6%$3.30B$1.26B11.102,199
FULT
Fulton Financial
3.5856 of 5 stars
$22.41
-1.3%
$24.75
+10.5%
+28.1%$4.28B$1.89B10.733,400
HWC
Hancock Whitney
4.1969 of 5 stars
$73.05
-0.2%
$84.56
+15.7%
+23.1%$5.86B$1.46B14.333,627

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This page (NASDAQ:WAFD) was last updated on 10/13/2026 by MarketBeat.com Staff.
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