Brokers Set Expectations for WaFd, Inc’s FY2024 Earnings (NASDAQ:WAFD)

WaFd, Inc (NASDAQ:WAFD) – Equities researchers at Zacks Research upped their FY2024 EPS estimates for WaFd in a report issued on Thursday, September 12th. Zacks Research analyst S. Shah now anticipates that the bank will post earnings per share of $3.00 for the year, up from their prior estimate of $2.99. The consensus estimate for WaFd’s current full-year earnings is $3.00 per share. Zacks Research also issued estimates for WaFd’s Q4 2024 earnings at $0.67 EPS, Q2 2025 earnings at $0.71 EPS, FY2025 earnings at $3.02 EPS, Q2 2026 earnings at $0.90 EPS and Q3 2026 earnings at $0.89 EPS.

Several other equities analysts have also weighed in on the stock. StockNews.com upgraded shares of WaFd from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, July 18th. Piper Sandler lifted their target price on shares of WaFd from $29.00 to $31.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, May 20th. Finally, Stephens lifted 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. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, WaFd currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $34.25.

WaFd Stock Up 2.6 %

Shares of WAFD opened at $35.73 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $2.90 billion, a PE ratio of 13.59 and a beta of 0.83. The company’s fifty day moving average is $34.27 and its two-hundred day moving average is $30.02. WaFd has a fifty-two week low of $23.36 and a fifty-two week high of $37.49. The company has a quick ratio of 1.09, a current ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.52.

WaFd (NASDAQ:WAFD) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, July 16th. The bank reported $0.75 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.57 by $0.18. WaFd had a net margin of 14.13% and a return on equity of 9.58%. The firm had revenue of $194.44 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $185.36 million. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.89 earnings per share. WaFd’s revenue was up 6.6% compared to the same quarter last year.

WaFd Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 6th. Investors of record on Friday, August 23rd were paid a dividend of $0.26 per share. This represents a $1.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.91%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 23rd. WaFd’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 39.54%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On WaFd

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in WAFD. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in WaFd during the 4th quarter worth $15,363,000. American Century Companies Inc. increased 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 last quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC bought a new stake in shares of WaFd in the 4th quarter worth about $9,270,000. Victory Capital Management Inc. increased 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 last quarter. Finally, Foundry Partners LLC increased its position 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 purchasing an additional 139,244 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.71% of the company’s stock.

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.