WaFd (NASDAQ:WAFD) Cut to Sell at Wall Street Zen

Wall Street Zen lowered shares of WaFd (NASDAQ:WAFD) from a hold rating to a sell rating in a research note released on Saturday.

Other equities research analysts also recently issued research reports about the company. Royal Bank Of Canada set a $34.00 target price on WaFd in a report on Tuesday, January 20th. Piper Sandler reduced their price objective on shares of WaFd from $33.50 to $30.50 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 20th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their target price on shares of WaFd from $31.00 to $34.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 20th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of WaFd in a report on Monday, December 29th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating, According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $32.90.

WaFd Price Performance

Shares of WAFD opened at $33.07 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.95, a quick ratio of 0.96 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $32.60 and its two-hundred day moving average is $31.10. WaFd has a twelve month low of $23.75 and a twelve month high of $33.92. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.53 billion, a PE ratio of 11.44 and a beta of 0.86.

WaFd (NASDAQ:WAFD) last issued 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). WaFd had a return on equity of 8.67% and a net margin of 17.45%.The business had revenue of $188.32 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $193.36 million. Research analysts anticipate that WaFd will post 2.56 earnings per share for the current year.

WaFd Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 5th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 21st were issued a $0.27 dividend. This represents a $1.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 21st. WaFd’s dividend payout ratio is 37.37%.

Insider Activity at WaFd

In other WaFd news, CEO Brent J. Beardall acquired 3,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, December 3rd. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $16.85 per share, with a total value of $50,550.00. Following the purchase, the chief executive officer directly owned 6,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $101,100. This trade represents a 100.00% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. 1.49% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On WaFd

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

WaFd Company Profile

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.