Zacks Research Has Strong Forecast for WaFd FY2027 Earnings

WaFd, Inc. (NASDAQ:WAFD) – Research analysts at Zacks Research raised their FY2027 earnings per share estimates for WaFd in a note issued to investors on Tuesday, October 6th. Zacks Research analyst Team now expects that the bank will earn $3.36 per share for the year, up from their previous estimate of $3.35. Zacks Research has a “Strong-Buy” rating on the stock. The consensus estimate for WaFd’s current full-year earnings is $3.22 per share.

WaFd (NASDAQ:WAFD) last issued its 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 company had revenue of $205.52 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $199.56 million. WaFd had a return on equity of 8.98% and a net margin of 18.47%.

Several other analysts have also recently commented on the stock. DA Davidson reduced their price objective on shares of WaFd from $40.00 to $37.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, September 9th. Piper Sandler lowered their target price on shares of WaFd from $36.00 to $32.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, October 1st. Finally, Weiss Ratings cut shares of WaFd from a “buy (b)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a report on Thursday, September 3rd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has given a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $35.25.

WaFd Stock Performance

NASDAQ:WAFD opened at $29.47 on Wednesday. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $34.60 and its 200-day simple moving average is $35.12. The company has a quick ratio of 0.98, a current ratio of 0.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.20. The stock has a market cap of $2.18 billion, a PE ratio of 9.30 and a beta of 0.89. WaFd has a fifty-two week low of $26.31 and a fifty-two week high of $39.49.

WaFd Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 4th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 21st were issued a $0.27 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 21st. This represents a $1.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.7%. WaFd’s dividend payout ratio is 34.07%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new position in shares of WaFd during the 2nd quarter worth $413,410,000. Bank of America Corp DE grew its stake in WaFd by 28.1% in the 1st quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 905,863 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $28,444,000 after acquiring an additional 198,728 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp acquired a new stake in WaFd in the 2nd quarter valued at about $26,489,000. Bridgeway Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in WaFd by 8.8% during the 4th quarter. Bridgeway Capital Management LLC now owns 525,351 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $16,827,000 after acquiring an additional 42,536 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its position in shares of WaFd by 34.4% in the first quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 504,529 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $15,842,000 after purchasing an additional 129,041 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.71% of the company’s stock.

About WaFd

WaFd, Inc is a bank holding company headquartered in Seattle, Washington, and the parent company of WaFd Bank. Founded in 1917 as Washington Federal, the company adopted the WaFd name in 2024. WaFd Bank provides banking and financial services to individuals, families, businesses and nonprofit organizations.

The bank offers deposit accounts, residential mortgage lending, home equity financing, commercial real estate loans, commercial and industrial lending, construction financing and consumer banking products.