WaFd, Inc. (NASDAQ:WAFD) Receives $32.00 Average Price Target from Analysts

Shares of WaFd, Inc. (NASDAQ:WAFD) have been assigned an average rating of “Hold” from the five analysts that are currently covering the company, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation. The average 12 month target price among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $32.00.

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on WAFD shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their target price on WaFd from $32.00 to $31.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, October 20th. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of WaFd from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Saturday, October 18th. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of WaFd in a report on Monday, December 29th.

WaFd Stock Performance

Shares of WaFd stock opened at $33.73 on Friday. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $32.24 and a two-hundred day moving average of $30.94. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64, a quick ratio of 0.96 and a current ratio of 0.96. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.58 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.78 and a beta of 0.86. WaFd has a 52 week low of $23.75 and a 52 week high of $33.92.

WaFd (NASDAQ:WAFD) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 28th. The bank reported $0.72 EPS for the quarter. The business had revenue of $187.62 million during the quarter. WaFd had a return on equity of 8.40% and a net margin of 16.02%. As a group, equities research analysts predict that WaFd will post 2.56 EPS for the current year.

WaFd Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 5th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 21st were issued a $0.27 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 21st. This represents a $1.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.2%. WaFd’s payout ratio is 40.91%.

Insider Activity at WaFd

In other WaFd news, CEO Brent J. Beardall acquired 3,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, December 3rd. The shares were acquired at an average price of $16.85 per share, with a total value of $50,550.00. Following the purchase, the chief executive officer owned 6,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $101,100. This represents a 100.00% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 1.49% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On WaFd

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Royal Bank of Canada grew its position in shares of WaFd by 14.5% in the 1st quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 22,011 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $629,000 after purchasing an additional 2,783 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in WaFd by 271.2% in the first quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 30,794 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $867,000 after buying an additional 22,499 shares in the last quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. boosted its holdings in shares of WaFd by 26.6% in the first quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 48,094 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $1,375,000 after buying an additional 10,092 shares during the period. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC boosted its holdings in shares of WaFd by 9.2% in the first quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 246,467 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $7,044,000 after buying an additional 20,865 shares during the period. Finally, Jane Street Group LLC increased its position in shares of WaFd by 862.6% during the first quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 69,306 shares of the bank’s stock worth $1,981,000 after acquiring an additional 62,106 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.71% of the company’s stock.

WaFd Company Profile

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.