WaFd, Inc. (NASDAQ:WAFD) Given Consensus Rating of “Hold” by Brokerages

Shares of WaFd, Inc. (NASDAQ:WAFD) have been assigned a consensus rating of “Hold” from the five research firms that are presently covering the company, MarketBeat.com reports. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company. The average 12-month target price among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $37.00.

A number of brokerages have issued reports on WAFD. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b)” rating on shares of WaFd in a research note on Wednesday. Zacks Research cut shares of WaFd from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, June 22nd. Finally, DA Davidson increased their price target on WaFd from $38.00 to $40.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, July 20th.

WaFd Stock Performance

WaFd stock opened at $36.38 on Monday. The company has a market cap of $2.69 billion, a PE ratio of 11.48 and a beta of 0.84. The company has a current ratio of 0.98, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.20. WaFd has a 1 year low of $26.31 and a 1 year high of $39.49. The company’s 50-day moving average is $37.43 and its two-hundred day moving average is $34.87.

WaFd (NASDAQ:WAFD) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, July 17th. The bank reported $0.81 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.82 by ($0.01). The business had revenue of $205.52 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $199.56 million. WaFd had a return on equity of 8.98% and a net margin of 18.47%. Equities analysts anticipate that WaFd will post 3.21 earnings per share for the current year.

WaFd Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 4th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 21st will be paid a $0.27 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 21st. This represents a $1.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.0%. WaFd’s dividend payout ratio is presently 34.07%.

Institutional Trading of WaFd

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of WAFD. Assetmark Inc. raised its position in shares of WaFd by 3,620.0% in the 1st quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 930 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 905 shares during the period. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. grew its holdings in WaFd by 42.8% during the second quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 1,174 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $34,000 after purchasing an additional 352 shares during the period. McIlrath & Eck LLC grew its holdings in WaFd by 57.6% during the second quarter. McIlrath & Eck LLC now owns 1,327 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $39,000 after purchasing an additional 485 shares during the period. Danske Bank A S bought a new stake in WaFd in the third quarter valued at approximately $51,000. Finally, Nykredit A S bought a new stake in WaFd in the second quarter valued at approximately $52,000. 83.71% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.