WaFd (NASDAQ:WAFD) Posts Quarterly Earnings Results, Misses Expectations By $0.02 EPS

WaFd (NASDAQ:WAFD) issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday. The bank reported $0.81 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.83 by ($0.02), Zacks reports. WaFd had a net margin of 18.25% and a return on equity of 8.94%.

WaFd Price Performance

WAFD traded up $0.93 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $39.32. 788,893 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 629,675. The company has a quick ratio of 0.97, a current ratio of 0.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.14. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $36.47 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $33.98. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.91 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.85 and a beta of 0.83. WaFd has a one year low of $26.31 and a one year high of $39.49.

WaFd Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 5th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 22nd were issued a dividend of $0.27 per share. This represents a $1.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 22nd. WaFd’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 35.29%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Kim E. Robison sold 22,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, April 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $35.28, for a total value of $776,160.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 116,099 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,095,972.72. This represents a 15.93% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 1.49% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its holdings in WaFd by 0.5% during the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 4,980,089 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $159,514,000 after purchasing an additional 26,000 shares in the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. boosted its stake in WaFd by 11.8% in the third quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 1,375,110 shares of the bank’s stock worth $41,652,000 after purchasing an additional 145,646 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its stake in WaFd by 5.7% in the fourth quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 712,302 shares of the bank’s stock worth $22,815,000 after purchasing an additional 38,376 shares in the last quarter. First Trust Advisors LP grew its holdings in shares of WaFd by 6.3% during the third quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 698,303 shares of the bank’s stock worth $21,152,000 after purchasing an additional 41,598 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE grew its holdings in shares of WaFd by 6.7% during the third quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 600,572 shares of the bank’s stock worth $18,191,000 after purchasing an additional 37,919 shares during the last quarter. 83.71% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have recently commented on the company. Zacks Research lowered WaFd from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, June 22nd. Piper Sandler raised their price objective on shares of WaFd from $30.50 to $36.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, April 20th. Weiss Ratings raised shares of WaFd from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research report on Friday, May 22nd. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their target price on shares of WaFd from $35.00 to $38.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Monday, April 20th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, WaFd currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $34.80.

About WaFd

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.