WaFd (NASDAQ:WAFD) Price Target Raised to $35.00 at Keefe, Bruyette & Woods

WaFd (NASDAQ:WAFD) had its price target hoisted by Keefe, Bruyette & Woods from $34.00 to $35.00 in a research note issued to investors on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a market perform rating on the bank’s stock.

A number of other equities research analysts have also issued reports on the stock. Piper Sandler reduced their target price on shares of WaFd from $33.50 to $30.50 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 20th. Royal Bank Of Canada set a $34.00 price objective on shares of WaFd in a research report on Tuesday, January 20th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of WaFd in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised shares of WaFd from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Sunday, February 8th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating, According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $33.10.

WaFd Price Performance

WaFd stock opened at $33.17 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $2.52 billion, a PE ratio of 11.48 and a beta of 0.83. WaFd has a 52-week low of $23.75 and a 52-week high of $34.29. The company has a quick ratio of 0.95, a current ratio of 0.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89. The company’s 50 day moving average is $32.04 and its two-hundred day moving average is $31.54.

WaFd (NASDAQ:WAFD) last released its earnings results on Friday, January 16th. The bank reported $0.75 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.76 by ($0.01). The business had revenue of $188.32 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $193.36 million. WaFd had a return on equity of 8.67% and a net margin of 17.45%. On average, research analysts expect that WaFd will post 2.56 EPS for the current fiscal year.

WaFd Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 27th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 13th were given a $0.27 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 13th. This represents a $1.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.3%. WaFd’s dividend payout ratio is currently 37.37%.

Insider Activity at WaFd

In other WaFd news, EVP Cathy E. Cooper sold 5,300 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $33.77, for a total value of $178,981.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 94,755 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,199,876.35. This represents a 5.30% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Corporate insiders own 1.49% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On WaFd

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of WAFD. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. grew its position in shares of WaFd by 42.8% in the 2nd quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 1,174 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $34,000 after buying an additional 352 shares during the last quarter. McIlrath & Eck LLC grew its position in shares of WaFd by 57.6% in the 2nd quarter. McIlrath & Eck LLC now owns 1,327 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $39,000 after buying an additional 485 shares during the last quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. grew its position in shares of WaFd by 604.5% in the 3rd quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 1,423 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $43,000 after buying an additional 1,221 shares during the last quarter. Danske Bank A S purchased a new position in shares of WaFd in the 3rd quarter valued at $51,000. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. grew its position in shares of WaFd by 36.0% in the 3rd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,837 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $56,000 after buying an additional 486 shares during the last quarter. 83.71% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.