WaFd (NASDAQ:WAFD) Downgraded to Hold Rating by Zacks Research

WaFd (NASDAQ:WAFD) was downgraded by equities research analysts at Zacks Research from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report issued on Monday,Zacks.com reports. Zacks Research also issued estimates for WaFd’s Q1 2028 earnings at $0.86 EPS.

Other equities research analysts have also recently issued reports about the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price target on WaFd from $35.00 to $38.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Monday, April 20th. Weiss Ratings raised WaFd from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research report on Friday, May 22nd. Finally, Piper Sandler boosted their target price on shares of WaFd from $30.50 to $36.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, April 20th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $34.80.

WaFd Stock Performance

WaFd stock opened at $37.26 on Monday. WaFd has a fifty-two week low of $26.31 and a fifty-two week high of $38.59. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $35.37 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $33.40. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.14, a quick ratio of 0.97 and a current ratio of 0.97. The stock has a market cap of $2.75 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.18 and a beta of 0.84.

WaFd (NASDAQ:WAFD) last announced its earnings results on Friday, April 17th. The bank reported $0.83 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.74 by $0.09. The firm had revenue of $197.66 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $190.51 million. WaFd had a return on equity of 8.94% and a net margin of 18.25%.During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.17 EPS. As a group, analysts expect that WaFd will post 3.27 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Kim E. Robison sold 22,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, April 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $35.28, for a total value of $776,160.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 116,099 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,095,972.72. The trade was a 15.93% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Insiders own 1.49% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of WaFd

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Assetmark Inc. raised its stake 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 buying an additional 905 shares during the last quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. grew its stake in shares of WaFd by 42.8% in the second quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 1,174 shares of the bank’s stock worth $34,000 after acquiring an additional 352 shares during the last quarter. McIlrath & Eck LLC increased its holdings in shares of WaFd by 57.6% during the second quarter. McIlrath & Eck LLC now owns 1,327 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $39,000 after acquiring an additional 485 shares in the last quarter. Danske Bank A S bought a new position in shares of WaFd during the third quarter valued at $51,000. Finally, EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of WaFd by 712.4% in the 2nd quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,901 shares of the bank’s stock worth $56,000 after purchasing an additional 1,667 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.71% of the company’s stock.

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.