WaFd (NASDAQ:WAFD) Upgraded to Hold at StockNews.com

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

Several other equities research analysts also recently commented on WAFD. DA Davidson boosted their target price on shares of WaFd from $39.00 to $41.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, October 21st. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reissued a “market perform” rating and issued a $40.00 price objective on shares of WaFd in a research note on Monday, October 21st. Piper Sandler cut their target price on WaFd from $36.00 to $35.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, October 21st. Finally, Stephens lifted their price objective on shares of WaFd from $32.00 to $36.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, July 18th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $38.00.

WaFd Stock Down 0.0 %

Shares of NASDAQ:WAFD opened at $36.96 on Tuesday. The business’s 50-day moving average is $35.21 and its 200-day moving average is $32.28. WaFd has a 1 year low of $25.78 and a 1 year high of $38.58. The company has a market capitalization of $3.00 billion, a price-to-earnings 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 (NASDAQ:WAFD) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 17th. The bank reported $0.71 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.70 by $0.01. WaFd had a net margin of 13.97% and a return on equity of 9.44%. The firm had revenue of $389.98 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $190.43 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.72 earnings per share. Equities research analysts predict that WaFd will post 2.82 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 6th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 22nd will be paid a $0.26 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 22nd. This represents a $1.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.81%. WaFd’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 41.94%.

Insider Transactions at WaFd

In other news, EVP Ryan Mauer sold 12,132 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $33.33, for a total transaction of $404,359.56. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 100,376 shares in the company, valued at $3,345,532.08. This trade represents a 10.78 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Company insiders own 2.25% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of WaFd

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Edgestream Partners L.P. grew its stake in shares of WaFd by 353.2% during the 1st quarter. Edgestream Partners L.P. now owns 102,577 shares of the bank’s stock worth $2,978,000 after acquiring an additional 79,942 shares during the period. BNP Paribas Financial Markets increased its stake in shares of WaFd by 94.4% in the first quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 34,046 shares of the bank’s stock worth $988,000 after purchasing an additional 16,534 shares in the last quarter. Tidal Investments LLC bought a new stake in shares of WaFd in the first quarter valued at approximately $653,000. Renaissance Technologies LLC grew its stake in WaFd by 24.1% in the 2nd quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 139,530 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $3,988,000 after buying an additional 27,100 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of WaFd by 1.6% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 7,902,461 shares of the bank’s stock worth $229,408,000 after acquiring an additional 125,020 shares during the period. 83.71% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other 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.