WaFd, Inc. (NASDAQ:WAFD) Receives $34.80 Consensus Target Price from Brokerages

Shares of WaFd, Inc. (NASDAQ:WAFD) have been given an average recommendation of “Hold” by the five ratings firms that are currently covering the stock, Marketbeat.com reports. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company. The average 1-year target price among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $34.80.

Several research firms have recently issued reports on WAFD. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price target on WaFd from $35.00 to $38.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Monday. Piper Sandler raised their price objective on shares of WaFd from $30.50 to $36.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday. Royal Bank Of Canada set a $34.00 target price on shares of WaFd in a report on Tuesday, January 20th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of WaFd from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Sunday, February 8th. Finally, Weiss Ratings upgraded WaFd from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research note on Friday, April 17th.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related 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 transaction of $178,981.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 94,755 shares in the company, valued at $3,199,876.35. This represents a 5.30% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 1.49% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On WaFd

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. grew its position in shares of WaFd by 42.8% during the 2nd quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 1,174 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $34,000 after acquiring an additional 352 shares during the period. McIlrath & Eck LLC grew its holdings in WaFd by 57.6% during the second quarter. McIlrath & Eck LLC now owns 1,327 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $39,000 after purchasing an additional 485 shares during the period. Hantz Financial Services Inc. increased its position in WaFd by 604.5% in the third quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 1,423 shares of the bank’s stock worth $43,000 after buying an additional 1,221 shares in the last quarter. Danske Bank A S purchased a new stake in WaFd in the third quarter worth about $51,000. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. raised its stake in shares of WaFd by 36.0% in the third quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,837 shares of the bank’s stock worth $56,000 after buying an additional 486 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.71% of the company’s stock.

WaFd Trading Up 1.1%

NASDAQ:WAFD opened at $35.42 on Tuesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.69 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.58 and a beta of 0.83. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.14, a current ratio of 0.97 and a quick ratio of 0.95. WaFd has a one year low of $26.31 and a one year high of $36.01. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $32.17 and its 200 day simple moving average is $31.78.

WaFd (NASDAQ:WAFD) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, April 16th. The bank reported $0.83 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.74 by $0.09. WaFd had a net margin of 18.25% and a return on equity of 8.94%. The business had revenue of $197.66 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $190.51 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.17 earnings per share. As a group, analysts forecast that WaFd will post 3.21 EPS for the current fiscal year.

WaFd Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 27th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 13th were issued a dividend of $0.27 per share. This represents a $1.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 13th. WaFd’s payout ratio is presently 35.29%.

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.