Bank of Hawaii (NYSE:BOH) and WaFd (NASDAQ:WAFD) Critical Comparison

WaFd (NASDAQ:WAFD) and Bank of Hawaii (NYSE:BOH) 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, profitability, valuation, institutional ownership, dividends, risk and earnings.

Volatility and Risk

WaFd has a beta of 0.89, suggesting that its stock price is 11% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Bank of Hawaii has a beta of 0.88, suggesting that its stock price is 12% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Valuation and Earnings

This table compares WaFd and Bank of Hawaii”s gross revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
WaFd	$724.86 million	3.44	$226.07 million	$2.64	12.30
Bank of Hawaii	$683.29 million	3.89	$149.99 million	$4.08	16.39

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

Profitability

This table compares WaFd and Bank of Hawaii’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
WaFd	16.02%	8.40%	0.84%
Bank of Hawaii	17.41%	13.33%	0.77%

Institutional and Insider Ownership

83.7% of WaFd shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 82.2% of Bank of Hawaii shares are held by institutional investors. 1.5% of WaFd shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 2.1% of Bank of Hawaii shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, hedge funds and endowments believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Dividends

WaFd pays an annual dividend of $1.08 per share and has a dividend yield of 3.3%. Bank of Hawaii pays an annual dividend of $2.80 per share and has a dividend yield of 4.2%. WaFd pays out 40.9% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Bank of Hawaii pays out 68.6% 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 Bank of Hawaii has raised its dividend for 1 consecutive years.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of current recommendations for WaFd and Bank of Hawaii, as provided by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
WaFd	0	5	0	0	2.00
Bank of Hawaii	1	4	1	0	2.00

WaFd presently has a consensus price target of $32.00, suggesting a potential downside of 1.48%. Bank of Hawaii has a consensus price target of $73.20, suggesting a potential upside of 9.48%. Given Bank of Hawaii’s higher probable upside, analysts plainly believe Bank of Hawaii is more favorable than WaFd.

Summary

Bank of Hawaii beats WaFd on 9 of the 16 factors compared between the two stocks.

About WaFd

WaFd, Inc operates as the bank holding company for Washington Federal Bank that provides lending, depository, insurance, and other banking services in the United States. The company offers deposit products, including business and personal checking accounts, and term certificates of deposit, as well as money market accounts and passbook savings accounts. It also provides single-family dwellings, construction, land acquisition and development, consumer lot, multi-family residential, commercial real estate, home equity, business, and consumer loans, as well as commercial and industrial loans. In addition, the company offers insurance brokerage services, such as individual and business insurance policies; holds and markets real estate properties; and debit and credit cards, as well as acts as the trustee. It serves consumers, mid-sized and large businesses, and owners and developers of commercial real estate. The company was formerly known as Washington Federal, Inc. and changed its name to WaFd, Inc in September 2023. WaFd, Inc was founded in 1917 and is headquartered in Seattle, Washington.

About Bank of Hawaii

Bank of Hawaii Corporation operates as the bank holding company for Bank of Hawaii that provides various financial products and services in Hawaii, Guam, and other Pacific Islands. It operates in three segments: Consumer Banking, Commercial Banking, and Treasury and Other. The Consumer Banking segment offers checking, savings, and time deposit accounts; residential mortgage loans, home equity lines of credit, automobile loans and leases, overdraft lines of credit, installment loans, small business loans and leases, and credit cards; private and international client banking, investment, credit, and trust services to individuals and families, as well as high-net-worth individuals; investment management; institutional investment advisory services to corporations, government entities, and foundations; and brokerage offerings, including equities, mutual funds, life insurance, and annuity products. The Commercial Banking segment provides corporate banking, commercial real estate loans, commercial lease financing, auto dealer financing, and deposit products. This segment also offers commercial lending and deposit products to middle-market and large companies, and government entities; commercial real estate mortgages to investors, developers, and builders; and international banking and merchant services. The Treasury and Other segment provides corporate asset and liability management services, including interest rate risk management and foreign exchange services. Bank of Hawaii Corporation was founded in 1897 and is headquartered in Honolulu, Hawaii.