WaFd (NASDAQ:WAFD) Upgraded at Zacks Research

Zacks Research upgraded shares of WaFd (NASDAQ:WAFD) from a hold rating to a strong-buy rating in a research note published on Monday morning,Zacks reports. Zacks Research also issued estimates for WaFd’s FY2027 earnings at $3.36 EPS.

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

WaFd Stock Down 1.5%

Shares of WAFD opened at $29.47 on Monday. 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 12 month low of $26.31 and a 12 month high of $39.49. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $34.60 and its 200-day moving average is $35.12. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.18 billion, a PE ratio of 9.30 and a beta of 0.89.

WaFd (NASDAQ:WAFD) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, July 17th. The bank reported $0.81 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.82 by ($0.01). WaFd had a net margin of 18.47% and a return on equity of 8.98%. The company had revenue of $205.52 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $199.56 million. Equities research analysts forecast that WaFd will post 3.22 EPS for the current year.

WaFd Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 4th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 21st were given a dividend of $0.27 per share. This represents a $1.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.7%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 21st. WaFd’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 34.07%.

Institutional Trading of WaFd

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Baron Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in shares of WaFd by 3.8% during the 1st quarter. Baron Wealth Management LLC now owns 8,720 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $274,000 after acquiring an additional 323 shares during the last quarter. HB Wealth Management LLC increased its position in shares of WaFd by 3.5% in the second quarter. HB Wealth Management LLC now owns 10,514 shares of the bank’s stock worth $403,000 after purchasing an additional 356 shares during the last quarter. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC purchased a new stake in WaFd in the second quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Assetmark Inc. lifted its position in WaFd by 3,620.0% during the first quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 930 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 905 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Amundi lifted its position in WaFd by 9.4% during the first quarter. Amundi now owns 12,668 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $398,000 after purchasing an additional 1,093 shares during the last quarter. 83.71% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

WaFd Company Profile

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.