Short Interest in WaFd, Inc (NASDAQ:WAFD) Expands By 20.8%

WaFd, Inc (NASDAQ:WAFD) saw a large growth in short interest in April. As of April 15th, there was short interest totalling 2,850,000 shares, a growth of 20.8% from the March 31st total of 2,360,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 604,400 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 4.7 days. Currently, 3.5% of the shares of the stock are sold short.

WaFd Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:WAFD opened at $29.08 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.04, a quick ratio of 1.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.05. WaFd has a 1-year low of $23.75 and a 1-year high of $38.62. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.37 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.40 and a beta of 0.79. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $27.88 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $31.37.

WaFd (NASDAQ:WAFD) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, April 11th. The bank reported $0.65 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.60 by $0.05. WaFd had a net margin of 12.66% and a return on equity of 8.78%. The business had revenue of $179.79 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $184.17 million. Equities analysts predict that WaFd will post 2.56 earnings per share for the current year.

WaFd Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 7th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 21st were paid a $0.27 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 21st. This represents a $1.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.71%. This is an increase from WaFd’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.26. WaFd’s dividend payout ratio is 40.75%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On WaFd

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd boosted its holdings in WaFd by 983.5% during the fourth quarter. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd now owns 1,116 shares of the bank’s stock worth $36,000 after buying an additional 1,013 shares during the last quarter. Harbour Investments Inc. raised its position in shares of WaFd by 29.6% in the 4th quarter. Harbour Investments Inc. now owns 1,752 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $56,000 after acquiring an additional 400 shares during the period. TD Private Client Wealth LLC raised its position in shares of WaFd by 35.2% in the 1st quarter. TD Private Client Wealth LLC now owns 2,002 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $57,000 after acquiring an additional 521 shares during the period. Blue Trust Inc. grew its holdings in WaFd by 68.4% during the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 2,000 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $70,000 after purchasing an additional 812 shares during the period. Finally, US Bancorp DE grew its holdings in WaFd by 136.7% during the fourth quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 3,638 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $117,000 after purchasing an additional 2,101 shares during the period. 83.71% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on WAFD. Piper Sandler dropped their target price on shares of WaFd from $37.00 to $31.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their target price on shares of WaFd from $32.00 to $30.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 16th. DA Davidson downgraded WaFd from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and reduced their target price for the stock from $35.00 to $32.00 in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Stephens reaffirmed an “equal weight” rating and set a $29.00 price target on shares of WaFd in a report on Monday, April 14th. Finally, StockNews.com raised WaFd from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, April 12th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $30.50.

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.