WaFd, Inc. (NASDAQ:WAFD) Given Average Recommendation of “Hold” by Analysts

Shares of WaFd, Inc. (NASDAQ:WAFD) have received an average recommendation of “Hold” from the five brokerages that are covering the company, MarketBeat reports. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation. The average 1-year price target among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $32.90.

A number of research analysts have issued reports on WAFD shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price objective on WaFd from $31.00 to $34.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 20th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of WaFd in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Royal Bank Of Canada set a $34.00 price target on shares of WaFd in a research report on Tuesday, January 20th. Wall Street Zen raised WaFd from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Sunday, February 8th. Finally, Piper Sandler lowered their target price on shares of WaFd from $33.50 to $30.50 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 20th.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Brent J. Beardall purchased 3,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, December 3rd. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $16.85 per share, with a total value of $50,550.00. Following the acquisition, the chief executive officer owned 6,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $101,100. This trade represents a 100.00% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Cathy E. Cooper sold 5,300 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $33.77, for a total transaction of $178,981.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 94,755 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,199,876.35. This represents a 5.30% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. 1.49% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On WaFd

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Royal Bank of Canada lifted its position in shares of WaFd by 14.5% during the 1st quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 22,011 shares of the bank’s stock worth $629,000 after buying an additional 2,783 shares during the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its position 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. grew its position in WaFd by 26.6% during the 1st quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 48,094 shares of the bank’s stock worth $1,375,000 after acquiring an additional 10,092 shares during the last quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC increased its position in WaFd by 9.2% in the 1st 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 acquiring an additional 20,865 shares during the period. Finally, Jane Street Group LLC raised its position in WaFd by 862.6% during the 1st quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 69,306 shares of the bank’s stock worth $1,981,000 after purchasing an additional 62,106 shares during the last quarter. 83.71% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

WaFd Stock Performance

Shares of WAFD opened at $31.16 on Monday. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $32.72 and its 200 day moving average price is $31.52. WaFd has a one year low of $23.75 and a one year high of $34.29. The company has a market capitalization of $2.36 billion, a PE ratio of 10.78 and a beta of 0.85. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89, a current ratio of 0.95 and a quick ratio of 0.95.

WaFd (NASDAQ:WAFD) last released its earnings results on Friday, January 16th. The bank reported $0.75 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.76 by ($0.01). WaFd had a return on equity of 8.67% and a net margin of 17.45%.The firm had revenue of $188.32 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $193.36 million. As a group, analysts expect that WaFd will post 2.56 earnings per share for the current year.

WaFd Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 27th. Investors of record on Friday, February 13th were given a $0.27 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 13th. This represents a $1.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.5%. WaFd’s payout ratio is currently 37.37%.

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.