WaFd, Inc. (NASDAQ:WAFD) Receives $32.00 Average Price Target from Brokerages

Shares of WaFd, Inc. (NASDAQ:WAFD) have been assigned an average rating of “Hold” from the five ratings firms that are covering the stock, Marketbeat.com reports. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation. The average 1-year price target among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $32.00.

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their price target on WaFd from $32.00 to $31.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, October 20th. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of WaFd in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered WaFd from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Saturday, October 18th.

WaFd Trading Down 1.0%

WaFd stock opened at $32.35 on Friday. WaFd has a 1 year low of $23.75 and a 1 year high of $33.92. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $32.10 and its 200-day moving average is $30.91. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64, a quick ratio of 0.96 and a current ratio of 0.96. The company has a market cap of $2.47 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.25 and a beta of 0.86.

WaFd (NASDAQ:WAFD) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 28th. The bank reported $0.72 earnings per share for the quarter. WaFd had a net margin of 16.02% and a return on equity of 8.40%. The firm had revenue of $187.62 million for the quarter. On average, equities analysts expect that WaFd will post 2.56 earnings per share for the current year.

WaFd Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 5th. Investors of record on Friday, November 21st were issued a $0.27 dividend. This represents a $1.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 21st. WaFd’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 40.91%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Brent J. Beardall bought 3,000 shares of WaFd stock in a transaction on Wednesday, December 3rd. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $16.85 per share, with a total value of $50,550.00. Following the purchase, the chief executive officer directly owned 6,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $101,100. This trade represents a 100.00% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. 1.49% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On WaFd

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in WAFD. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. boosted its position in shares of WaFd by 42.8% during the second quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 1,174 shares of the bank’s stock worth $34,000 after buying an additional 352 shares during the period. McIlrath & Eck LLC raised its stake in WaFd by 57.6% during the 2nd 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. Hantz Financial Services Inc. boosted its position in WaFd by 604.5% during the 3rd quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 1,423 shares of the bank’s stock worth $43,000 after acquiring an additional 1,221 shares during the period. Danske Bank A S bought a new position in shares of WaFd in the third quarter worth $51,000. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. increased its holdings in shares of WaFd by 36.0% during the third quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,837 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $56,000 after purchasing an additional 486 shares during the period. 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.