Head-To-Head Review: WaFd (WAFD) and Its Competitors

WaFd (NASDAQ:WAFD) is one of 919 publicly-traded companies in the “Banks” industry, but how does it contrast to its peers? We will compare WaFd to similar businesses based on the strength of its valuation, analyst recommendations, profitability, dividends, institutional ownership, risk and earnings.

Volatility and Risk

WaFd has a beta of 0.9, meaning that its stock price is 10% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, WaFd’s peers have a beta of 0.61, meaning that their average stock price is 39% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Dividends

WaFd pays an annual dividend of $1.08 per share and has a dividend yield of 3.7%. WaFd pays out 33.6% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. As a group, “Banks” companies pay a dividend yield of 8.9% and pay out 28.9% of their earnings in the form of a dividend. WaFd has raised its dividend for 2 consecutive years. WaFd lags its peers as a dividend stock, given its lower dividend yield and higher payout ratio.

Profitability

This table compares WaFd and its peers’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
WaFd	18.04%	9.37%	0.93%
WaFd Competitors	15.64%	9.43%	0.93%

Institutional & Insider Ownership

83.7% of WaFd shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 47.8% of shares of all “Banks” companies are owned by institutional investors. 1.5% of WaFd shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 9.7% of shares of all “Banks” companies are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, large money managers and hedge funds believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Analyst Ratings

This is a summary of current ratings and recommmendations for WaFd and its peers, as provided by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
WaFd	0	5	0	0	2.00
WaFd Competitors	7492	30243	27843	1488	2.35

WaFd presently has a consensus target price of $32.50, indicating a potential upside of 10.39%. As a group, “Banks” companies have a potential upside of 14.57%. Given WaFd’s peers stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, analysts plainly believe WaFd has less favorable growth aspects than its peers.

Valuation & Earnings

This table compares WaFd and its peers gross revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Net Income	Price/Earnings Ratio
WaFd	$1.42 billion	$255.87 million	9.17
WaFd Competitors	$37.93 billion	$2.42 billion	21.33

WaFd’s peers have higher revenue and earnings than WaFd. WaFd is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than its peers, indicating that it is currently more affordable than other companies in its industry.

Summary

WaFd peers beat WaFd on 12 of the 15 factors compared.

WaFd Company Profile

WaFd, Inc. is the bank holding company for WaFd Bank, a regional financial institution serving individuals, businesses and organizations. The bank offers deposit accounts, including checking and savings, as well as consumer and commercial lending, mortgage services and cash management. Its lending activities include residential mortgages and loans to businesses, including commercial real estate financing. WaFd Bank operates across the western United States, with a presence in states including Washington, Oregon, Idaho, Arizona, Nevada, Utah, New Mexico and Texas.