WaFd (WAFD) Stock Price, News & Analysis

Company Overview

Washington Federal, Inc., doing business as WaFd Bank, is a publicly traded bank holding company headquartered in Seattle, Washington. Through its subsidiary, WaFd Bank, the company provides a range of banking and financial services to individuals, small-to-medium enterprises, and commercial clients. Established in 1917 as Ballard Savings & Loan in Seattle, the institution expanded over decades to serve customers across the Western United States under the Washington Federal name and has operated as a public company since the early 1980s.

WaFd Bank’s core offerings encompass deposit accounts such as checking, savings, money market, and certificates of deposit, alongside consumer and commercial lending products. The bank specializes in residential mortgage origination and servicing, home equity lines of credit, and construction and land development loans. For business clients, WaFd provides commercial real estate financing, equipment loans, working capital lines of credit, and treasury management solutions designed to streamline cash flow and payment processing.

In addition to traditional banking activities, WaFd Bank offers wealth management and trust services, including investment advisory, retirement planning, and estate administration. Insurance and employee benefit plan services are also part of the company’s product suite, allowing clients to access property and casualty policies, life insurance, and group benefit plans. These complementary services aim to provide a comprehensive financial solution under a single institutional umbrella.

With a branch network of over 170 locations, WaFd Bank serves customers in Washington, Oregon, California, Arizona, Colorado, Idaho, Nevada, New Mexico, and Utah. The company emphasizes community engagement and local decision-making to tailor solutions to regional market needs. Brent J. Beardall serves as President and Chief Executive Officer, leading a senior management team focused on sustainable growth, risk management, and delivering personalized customer experiences.

Key Stats

• Today's Range: $36.02 to $36.50
• 50-Day Range: $36.21 to $39.32
• 52-Week Range: $26.31 to $39.49
• Volume: 301,219 shs
• Average Volume: 521,866 shs
• Market Capitalization: $2.68 billion
• P/E Ratio: 11.43
• Dividend Yield: 2.98%
• Price Target: $37.00
• Consensus Rating: Hold

WaFd Stock Analysis - MarketRank™

WaFd scored higher than 51% of companies evaluated by MarketBeat, and ranked 616th out of 853 stocks in the finance sector. Scores are calculated by averaging available category scores, with extra weight given to analysis and valuation.

Analyst's Opinion

• Score: 1.9 / 5
• Analyst Rating: Hold

Consensus Rating

WaFd has received a consensus rating of Hold. The company's average rating score is 2.20, and is based on no strong buy ratings, 1 buy rating, 4 hold ratings, and no sell ratings.

Upside/Downside

The consensus price target for WaFd is close to its current price, suggesting limited near-term upside or downside.

Amount of Analyst Coverage

WaFd has only been the subject of 3 research reports in the past 90 days.

Earnings and Valuation

• Score: 2.5 / 5
• Proj. Earnings Growth: 5.30%

Earnings Growth

Earnings for WaFd are expected to grow by 5.30% in the coming year, from $3.21 to $3.38 per share.

Price to Earnings Ratio vs. the Market

The P/E ratio of WaFd is 11.43, which means that it is trading at a less expensive P/E ratio than the market average P/E ratio of about 44.89.

Price to Earnings Ratio vs. Sector

The P/E ratio of WaFd is 11.43, which means that it is trading at a less expensive P/E ratio than the Finance sector average P/E ratio of about 26.71.

Price to Book Value per Share Ratio

WaFd has a P/B Ratio of 0.98. P/B Ratios below 1 indicate that a company could be undervalued with respect to its assets and liabilities.

Short Interest

• Score: 1.0 / 5
• Short Interest Level: Bearish

Percentage of Shares Shorted

5.50% of the float of WaFd has been sold short.

Short Interest Ratio / Days to Cover

WaFd has a short interest ratio ("days to cover") of 7.26.

Change versus previous month

Short interest in WaFd has recently increased by 7.61%, indicating that investor sentiment is decreasing significantly.

Dividend

• Score: 2.5 / 5
• Dividend Strength: Moderate

Dividend Yield

WaFd pays a meaningful dividend of 2.98%, higher than the bottom 25% of all stocks that pay dividends.

Dividend Growth

WaFd has only been increasing its dividend for 2 years.

Dividend Coverage

The dividend payout ratio of WaFd is 34.07%. This payout ratio is at a healthy, sustainable level, below 75%.

Dividend Sustainability

Based on earnings estimates, WaFd will have a dividend payout ratio of 31.95% next year. This indicates that WaFd will be able to sustain or increase its dividend.

News and Social Media

• Score: 3.2 / 5
• News Sentiment: 1.17

News Sentiment

WaFd has a news sentiment score of 1.17. This score is calculated as an average of sentiment of articles about the company over the last seven days and ranges from 2 (good news) to -2 (bad news). This is a higher news sentiment than the 0.89 average news sentiment score of Finance companies.

News Coverage This Week

MarketBeat has tracked 4 news articles for WaFd this week, compared to 3 articles on an average week.

Company Ownership

• Score: 0.8 / 5
• Insider Trading: N/A

Insider Buying vs. Insider Selling

In the past three months, WaFd insiders have not sold or bought any company stock.

Percentage Held by Insiders

1.49% of the stock of WaFd is held by insiders.

Percentage Held by Institutions

83.71% of the stock of WaFd is held by institutions. High institutional ownership can be a signal of strong market trust in this company.

Company Calendar

• Record date for 6/5 Dividend: 5/22/2026
• Ex-Dividend for 6/5 Dividend: 5/22/2026
• Dividend Payable: 6/05/2026
• Last Earnings: 7/17/2026
• Record date for 9/4 Dividend: 8/21/2026
• Ex-Dividend for 9/4 Dividend: 8/21/2026
• Today: 8/27/2026
• Dividend Payable: 9/04/2026
• Fiscal Year End: 9/30/2026
• Next Earnings (Estimated): 10/15/2026

Industry, Sector and Symbol

• Stock Exchange: NASDAQ
• Sector: Finance
• Industry: Banks
• Sub-Industry: Regional Banks
• Current Symbol: NASDAQ:WAFD
• CIK: 936528
• Web: www.washingtonfederal.com
• Phone: (206) 624-7930
• Fax: 206-626-8520
• Employees: 2,037
• Year Founded: 1917

Price Target and Rating

• Average Price Target for WaFd: $37.00
• High Price Target: $40.00
• Low Price Target: $34.00
• Potential Upside/Downside: +2.2%
• Consensus Rating: Hold
• Rating Score (0-4): 2.20
• Research Coverage: 5 Analysts

Profitability

• EPS (Trailing Twelve Months): $3.17
• Trailing P/E Ratio: 11.43
• Forward P/E Ratio: 11.28
• P/E Growth: N/A
• Net Income: $226.07 million
• Net Margins: 18.47%
• Pretax Margin: 23.63%
• Return on Equity: 8.98%
• Return on Assets: 0.89%

Debt

• Debt-to-Equity Ratio: 1.20
• Current Ratio: 0.98
• Quick Ratio: 0.98

Sales & Book Value

• Annual Sales: $1.41 billion
• Price / Sales: 1.90
• Cash Flow: $3.09 per share
• Price / Cash Flow: 11.74
• Book Value: $36.79 per share
• Price / Book: 0.98

Miscellaneous

• Outstanding Shares: 74,000,000
• Free Float: 72,892,000
• Market Cap: $2.68 billion
• Optionable: Optionable
• Beta: 0.84