Brokerages Set WaFd, Inc. (NASDAQ:WAFD) PT at $32.00

Shares of WaFd, Inc. (NASDAQ:WAFD) have received an average rating of “Hold” from the five research firms that are covering the company, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating. The average 12 month price target among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $32.00.

Several equities research analysts have commented on the stock. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of WaFd from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Saturday, October 18th. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of WaFd in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their price objective on WaFd from $32.00 to $31.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, October 20th.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Sean Singleton sold 1,004 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, September 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $31.71, for a total transaction of $31,836.84. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 9,278 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $294,205.38. This represents a 9.76% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Corporate insiders own 1.46% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On WaFd

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Invesco Ltd. raised its stake in shares of WaFd by 124.3% in the 1st quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,107,097 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $31,641,000 after purchasing an additional 613,596 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp raised its position in WaFd by 5.1% in the 1st quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 875,079 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $25,010,000 after buying an additional 42,653 shares during the last quarter. Aigen Investment Management LP acquired a new stake in WaFd in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $281,000. Hsbc Holdings PLC lifted its stake in WaFd by 20.7% in the 1st quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 9,377 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $268,000 after acquiring an additional 1,608 shares in the last quarter. Finally, New Age Alpha Advisors LLC acquired a new position in WaFd during the 1st quarter worth approximately $335,000. 83.71% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

WaFd Trading Down 1.3%

NASDAQ:WAFD opened at $31.32 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.96, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64. WaFd has a 1-year low of $23.75 and a 1-year high of $38.62. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.40 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.86 and a beta of 0.89. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $30.03 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $29.95.

WaFd (NASDAQ:WAFD) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 28th. The bank reported $0.72 EPS for the quarter. The company had revenue of $169.23 million during the quarter. WaFd had a return on equity of 8.40% and a net margin of 16.02%. On average, equities analysts expect that WaFd will post 2.56 earnings per share for the current year.

WaFd Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 5th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 21st will be issued a dividend of $0.27 per share. This represents a $1.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.4%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 21st. WaFd’s payout ratio is 40.91%.

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.