WaFd, Inc (NASDAQ:WAFD) Sees Large Growth in Short Interest

WaFd, Inc (NASDAQ:WAFD) was the target of a large growth in short interest in the month of September. As of September 30th, there was short interest totalling 2,040,000 shares, a growth of 47.8% from the September 15th total of 1,380,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 562,800 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 3.6 days.

WaFd Stock Performance

NASDAQ:WAFD traded up $1.16 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $35.77. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 439,348 shares, compared to its average volume of 739,825. The business’s fifty day moving average is $34.88 and its two-hundred day moving average is $30.94. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.52, a current ratio of 1.11 and a quick ratio of 1.09. The stock has a market cap of $2.91 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.37 and a beta of 0.83. WaFd has a 1 year low of $23.36 and a 1 year high of $37.49.

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

WaFd Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 6th. Investors of record on Friday, August 23rd were given a dividend of $0.26 per share. This represents a $1.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.91%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 23rd. WaFd’s payout ratio is 41.77%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

WAFD has been the topic of several analyst reports. Stephens upped their price objective on WaFd from $32.00 to $36.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 18th. StockNews.com downgraded WaFd from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 3rd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $34.25.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in WAFD. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. lifted its stake in shares of WaFd by 100.0% in the second quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 1,644 shares of the bank’s stock worth $47,000 after buying an additional 822 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its holdings in WaFd by 515.8% in the 3rd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,558 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $54,000 after buying an additional 1,305 shares during the period. nVerses Capital LLC acquired a new position in WaFd in the second quarter valued at about $80,000. Meeder Asset Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of WaFd during the 1st quarter worth approximately $194,000. Finally, SG Americas Securities LLC acquired a new stake in WaFd in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $194,000. Hedge funds and other 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.