WaFd, Inc (NASDAQ:WAFD) Short Interest Update

WaFd, Inc (NASDAQ:WAFD) was the recipient of a large increase in short interest in June. As of June 30th, there was short interest totalling 2,300,000 shares, an increase of 33.4% from the June 15th total of 1,724,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 404,700 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 5.7 days.

WaFd Price Performance

WaFd stock opened at $30.38 on Friday. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $27.89 and a 200-day simple moving average of $28.43. The company has a quick ratio of 1.03, a current ratio of 1.17 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.07. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.55 and a beta of 0.83. WaFd has a 52-week low of $23.36 and a 52-week high of $34.07.

WaFd (NASDAQ:WAFD) last issued its earnings results on Monday, April 22nd. The bank reported $0.73 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.31 by $0.42. WaFd had a return on equity of 10.02% and a net margin of 15.33%. The business had revenue of $171.99 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $170.74 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.95 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 7.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts anticipate that WaFd will post 2.77 EPS for the current fiscal year.

WaFd Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 7th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 24th were issued a dividend of $0.26 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, May 23rd. This represents a $1.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.42%. WaFd’s dividend payout ratio is currently 39.54%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in WAFD. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in shares of WaFd by 25.1% in the 2nd quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 24,633 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $704,000 after purchasing an additional 4,941 shares during the last quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale boosted its stake in WaFd by 21.7% during the first quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale now owns 7,322 shares of the bank’s stock worth $210,000 after buying an additional 1,305 shares during the period. EMC Capital Management increased its position in shares of WaFd by 124.4% during the first quarter. EMC Capital Management now owns 9,388 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $273,000 after acquiring an additional 5,204 shares during the last quarter. Comerica Bank raised its stake in shares of WaFd by 3.2% in the 1st quarter. Comerica Bank now owns 54,377 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $1,579,000 after acquiring an additional 1,694 shares during the period. Finally, Tidal Investments LLC acquired a new position in shares of WaFd in the 1st quarter worth approximately $653,000. 83.71% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

WAFD has been the topic of several research analyst reports. StockNews.com lowered WaFd from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Thursday, March 21st. Piper Sandler boosted 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. DA Davidson reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $35.00 price objective on shares of WaFd in a report on Thursday, April 11th. Finally, Stephens reissued an “equal weight” rating and set a $32.00 target price on shares of WaFd in a research note on Tuesday, April 23rd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, WaFd has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $33.25.

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.