WaFd (NASDAQ:WAFD) Price Target Lowered to $31.00 at Piper Sandler

WaFd (NASDAQ:WAFD) had its target price lowered by Piper Sandler from $37.00 to $31.00 in a research note issued to investors on Tuesday morning,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a neutral rating on the bank’s stock.

A number of other equities research analysts have also recently commented on WAFD. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their price target on shares of WaFd from $42.00 to $34.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday. StockNews.com upgraded WaFd from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 12th. Stephens restated an “equal weight” rating and issued a $38.00 price target on shares of WaFd in a research note on Friday, January 17th. Finally, DA Davidson increased their price objective on WaFd from $39.00 to $41.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, October 21st. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $36.00.

WaFd Stock Performance

Shares of WaFd stock opened at $29.43 on Tuesday. WaFd has a 1 year low of $25.78 and a 1 year high of $38.62. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $33.92 and its 200 day moving average is $34.41. The stock has a market cap of $2.39 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.56 and a beta of 0.87. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21, a current ratio of 1.08 and a quick ratio of 1.08.

WaFd Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 6th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 22nd were paid a $0.26 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 22nd. This represents a $1.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.53%. WaFd’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 47.93%.

Insider Activity at WaFd

In other WaFd news, EVP Ryan Mauer sold 12,132 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $33.33, for a total value of $404,359.56. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 100,376 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,345,532.08. This trade represents a 10.78 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 1.46% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On WaFd

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in WAFD. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. bought a new stake in WaFd during the third quarter valued at approximately $18,583,000. Systematic Financial Management LP grew its position in shares of WaFd by 21.5% during the 3rd quarter. Systematic Financial Management LP now owns 1,432,523 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $49,923,000 after acquiring an additional 253,044 shares during the period. State Street Corp increased its stake in shares of WaFd by 5.2% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 3,969,790 shares of the bank’s stock worth $138,347,000 after purchasing an additional 195,845 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in WaFd by 10.0% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,759,135 shares of the bank’s stock worth $61,318,000 after purchasing an additional 159,750 shares during the period. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its position in WaFd by 28.6% during the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 428,504 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $14,933,000 after purchasing an additional 95,251 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 83.71% of the company’s stock.

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.