WaFd (NASDAQ:WAFD) Hits New 1-Year High at $36.95

WaFd, Inc (NASDAQ:WAFD)’s stock price hit a new 52-week high during trading on Friday . The company traded as high as $36.95 and last traded at $36.90, with a volume of 57142 shares. The stock had previously closed at $35.23.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on WAFD shares. Piper Sandler increased their price target on shares of WaFd from $29.00 to $31.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, May 20th. Stephens increased their target price on shares of WaFd from $32.00 to $36.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, July 18th. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of WaFd from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, July 18th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, WaFd presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $34.25.

WaFd Stock Up 4.0 %

The firm has a market cap of $2.98 billion, a PE ratio of 13.57 and a beta of 0.83. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.52, a quick ratio of 1.09 and a current ratio of 1.11. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $31.45 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $29.11.

WaFd (NASDAQ:WAFD) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 16th. The bank reported $0.75 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.57 by $0.18. The business had revenue of $194.44 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $185.36 million. WaFd had a net margin of 14.13% and a return on equity of 9.58%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.89 EPS. On average, analysts predict that WaFd, Inc will post 3 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

WaFd Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 6th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 23rd will be given a $0.26 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 23rd. This represents a $1.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.84%. WaFd’s dividend payout ratio is 39.54%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On WaFd

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of WAFD. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of WaFd in the 4th quarter worth about $15,363,000. American Century Companies Inc. lifted its position in shares of WaFd by 31.6% in the 2nd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 1,274,665 shares of the bank’s stock worth $36,430,000 after purchasing an additional 305,942 shares during the period. Hsbc Holdings PLC purchased a new stake in shares of WaFd in the 4th quarter worth about $9,270,000. Victory Capital Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of WaFd by 113.4% in the 2nd quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 272,721 shares of the bank’s stock worth $7,794,000 after purchasing an additional 144,920 shares during the period. Finally, Foundry Partners LLC increased its stake in shares of WaFd by 113.8% in the 1st quarter. Foundry Partners LLC now owns 261,656 shares of the bank’s stock worth $7,596,000 after acquiring an additional 139,244 shares in the last quarter. 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.