WaFd (NASDAQ:WAFD) Stock Rating Upgraded by StockNews.com

StockNews.com upgraded shares of WaFd (NASDAQ:WAFD) from a sell rating to a hold rating in a report released on Tuesday.

Other research analysts have also recently issued reports about the stock. Stephens upped their price objective 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. Piper Sandler reduced their target price on WaFd from $36.00 to $35.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, October 21st. DA Davidson lifted their price target on WaFd from $39.00 to $41.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, October 21st. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reiterated a “market perform” rating and set a $40.00 price objective on shares of WaFd in a research report on Monday, October 21st. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $38.00.

WaFd Stock Performance

NASDAQ WAFD opened at $36.96 on Tuesday. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $35.21 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $32.28. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.00 billion, a PE ratio of 14.90 and a beta of 0.83. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21, a current ratio of 1.08 and a quick ratio of 1.09. WaFd has a 1 year low of $25.78 and a 1 year high of $38.58.

WaFd (NASDAQ:WAFD) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 17th. The bank reported $0.71 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.70 by $0.01. WaFd had a return on equity of 9.44% and a net margin of 13.97%. The company had revenue of $389.98 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $190.43 million. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.72 earnings per share. Analysts predict that WaFd will post 2.82 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

WaFd Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Ryan Mauer sold 12,132 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $33.33, for a total transaction of $404,359.56. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 100,376 shares in the company, valued at $3,345,532.08. The trade was a 10.78 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 2.25% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On WaFd

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Barclays PLC raised its holdings in shares of WaFd by 33.3% during the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 161,958 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $5,643,000 after acquiring an additional 40,499 shares in the last quarter. MML Investors Services LLC lifted its position in shares of WaFd by 7.3% in the 3rd quarter. MML Investors Services LLC now owns 15,835 shares of the bank’s stock worth $552,000 after purchasing an additional 1,077 shares during the period. Dean Investment Associates LLC boosted its stake in shares of WaFd by 39.2% during the 3rd quarter. Dean Investment Associates LLC now owns 70,060 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $2,442,000 after purchasing an additional 19,716 shares in the last quarter. Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC grew its holdings in shares of WaFd by 5.4% during the 3rd quarter. Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC now owns 39,465 shares of the bank’s stock worth $1,375,000 after acquiring an additional 2,025 shares during the period. Finally, XTX Topco Ltd purchased a new position in WaFd during the third quarter valued at $355,000. 83.71% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

WaFd Company Profile

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.