WaFd, Inc (NASDAQ:WAFD) Sees Significant Decline in Short Interest

WaFd, Inc (NASDAQ:WAFD) was the target of a large drop in short interest in October. As of October 31st, there was short interest totalling 1,520,000 shares, a drop of 31.2% from the October 15th total of 2,210,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 534,200 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 2.8 days.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Ryan Mauer sold 12,132 shares of WaFd stock in a transaction on Monday, November 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $33.33, for a total transaction of $404,359.56. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 100,376 shares in the company, valued at $3,345,532.08. This trade represents a 10.78 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Company insiders own 2.25% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On WaFd

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Edgestream Partners L.P. boosted its position in shares of WaFd by 353.2% during the 1st quarter. Edgestream Partners L.P. now owns 102,577 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $2,978,000 after purchasing an additional 79,942 shares in the last quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets lifted its position in shares of WaFd by 94.4% in the first quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 34,046 shares of the bank’s stock worth $988,000 after purchasing an additional 16,534 shares in the last quarter. Tidal Investments LLC purchased a new stake in shares of WaFd in the first quarter worth approximately $653,000. Renaissance Technologies LLC lifted its position in shares of WaFd by 24.1% in the second quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 139,530 shares of the bank’s stock worth $3,988,000 after purchasing an additional 27,100 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in WaFd by 1.6% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 7,902,461 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $229,408,000 after acquiring an additional 125,020 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 83.71% of the company’s stock.

WaFd Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:WAFD traded down $0.19 on Thursday, reaching $36.97. 334,627 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 448,723. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.00 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.87 and a beta of 0.83. WaFd has a fifty-two week low of $25.78 and a fifty-two week high of $38.58. The business’s 50-day moving average is $35.19 and its two-hundred day moving average is $32.25. The company has a quick ratio of 1.09, a current ratio of 1.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21.

WaFd (NASDAQ:WAFD) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 17th. The bank reported $0.71 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.70 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $389.98 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $190.43 million. WaFd had a net margin of 13.97% and a return on equity of 9.44%. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.72 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that WaFd will post 2.83 EPS for the current year.

WaFd Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 6th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 22nd will be given a dividend of $0.26 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 22nd. This represents a $1.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.81%. WaFd’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 41.94%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts recently commented on the stock. Piper Sandler decreased their price objective on shares of WaFd from $36.00 to $35.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, October 21st. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reissued a “market perform” rating and issued a $40.00 price objective on shares of WaFd in a research report on Monday, October 21st. DA Davidson upped their price target on shares of WaFd from $39.00 to $41.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, October 21st. Stephens upped their price target on shares of WaFd from $32.00 to $36.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 18th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of WaFd from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, WaFd currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $38.00.

About WaFd

WaFd, Inc operates as the bank holding company for Washington Federal Bank that provides lending, depository, insurance, and other banking services in the United States. The company offers deposit products, including business and personal checking accounts, and term certificates of deposit, as well as money market accounts and passbook savings accounts.