Washington Federal (NASDAQ:WAFD) Research Coverage Started at StockNews.com

StockNews.com assumed coverage on shares of Washington Federal (NASDAQ:WAFD – Get Rating) in a report released on Thursday morning. The firm issued a hold rating on the bank’s stock.

A number of other equities research analysts also recently weighed in on WAFD. Piper Sandler boosted their target price on Washington Federal from $36.00 to $37.00 and gave the stock a neutral rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 17th. DA Davidson boosted their target price on Washington Federal from $43.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 17th.

Washington Federal Trading Down 4.7 %

Shares of WAFD opened at $30.13 on Thursday. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $34.71 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $34.20. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.52, a quick ratio of 1.09 and a current ratio of 1.09. Washington Federal has a 52-week low of $29.08 and a 52-week high of $39.17. The company has a market cap of $1.97 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.85 and a beta of 0.85.

Washington Federal (NASDAQ:WAFD – Get Rating) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 12th. The bank reported $1.16 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.11 by $0.05. Washington Federal had a return on equity of 13.60% and a net margin of 32.70%. The firm had revenue of $196.82 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $194.50 million. Analysts predict that Washington Federal will post 4.43 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Washington Federal Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 10th. Investors of record on Friday, February 24th were issued a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.32%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 23rd. This is an increase from Washington Federal’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.24. Washington Federal’s dividend payout ratio is currently 26.04%.

Insider Activity at Washington Federal

In related news, EVP Cathy E. Cooper sold 15,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $34.25, for a total value of $513,750.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 61,106 shares in the company, valued at $2,092,880.50. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In related news, EVP Kim E. Robison sold 7,148 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $34.00, for a total value of $243,032.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 56,344 shares in the company, valued at $1,915,696. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Cathy E. Cooper sold 15,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $34.25, for a total value of $513,750.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 61,106 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,092,880.50. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.46% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. US Bancorp DE grew its stake in Washington Federal by 16.0% in the third quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 2,105 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $63,000 after acquiring an additional 290 shares during the period. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp grew its stake in Washington Federal by 1.1% in the fourth quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp now owns 31,978 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $1,073,000 after acquiring an additional 356 shares during the period. LPL Financial LLC grew its stake in Washington Federal by 0.5% in the fourth quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 80,037 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $2,685,000 after acquiring an additional 425 shares during the period. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund grew its stake in Washington Federal by 2.4% in the fourth quarter. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund now owns 19,079 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $640,000 after acquiring an additional 449 shares during the period. Finally, State of Wyoming grew its stake in Washington Federal by 10.5% in the fourth quarter. State of Wyoming now owns 5,084 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $171,000 after acquiring an additional 484 shares during the period. 80.35% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Washington Federal Company Profile

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Washington Federal, Inc engages in the provision of lending, depository, insurance, and other banking services to consumers. It operates under the Commercial Loans and Consumer Loans segments. The Commercial Loans segment is disaggregated into five classes: multi-family, commercial real estate, commercial and industrial, construction, and land acquisition and development.