WaFd, Inc (NASDAQ:WAFD) Short Interest Up 26.8% in December

WaFd, Inc (NASDAQ:WAFD) was the target of a large increase in short interest in the month of December. As of December 15th, there was short interest totalling 1,610,000 shares, an increase of 26.8% from the November 30th total of 1,270,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 473,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 3.4 days.

WaFd Trading Down 1.4 %

Shares of WAFD opened at $32.61 on Friday. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $35.26 and its 200 day moving average price is $33.88. The company has a quick ratio of 1.08, a current ratio of 1.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.65 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.15 and a beta of 0.84. WaFd has a 12-month low of $25.78 and a 12-month high of $38.62.

WaFd (NASDAQ:WAFD) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 17th. The bank reported $0.71 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.70 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $389.98 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $190.43 million. WaFd had a return on equity of 9.44% and a net margin of 13.97%. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.72 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts predict that WaFd will post 2.82 earnings per share for the current year.

WaFd Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 6th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 22nd were issued a $0.26 dividend. This represents a $1.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.19%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 22nd. WaFd’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 41.94%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other WaFd news, EVP Ryan Mauer sold 12,132 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, November 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $33.33, for a total transaction of $404,359.56. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 100,376 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,345,532.08. The trade was a 10.78 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 2.25% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On WaFd

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Renaissance Technologies LLC increased its stake in WaFd by 24.1% in the second quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 139,530 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $3,988,000 after acquiring an additional 27,100 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of WaFd by 7.4% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,225,248 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $42,700,000 after purchasing an additional 84,155 shares during the period. Citigroup Inc. raised its holdings in shares of WaFd by 11.9% in the 3rd quarter. Citigroup Inc. now owns 186,174 shares of the bank’s stock worth $6,488,000 after buying an additional 19,751 shares in the last quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of WaFd by 618.6% in the 2nd quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. now owns 47,972 shares of the bank’s stock worth $1,371,000 after buying an additional 41,296 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Barclays PLC lifted its position in shares of WaFd by 33.3% during the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 161,958 shares of the bank’s stock worth $5,643,000 after buying an additional 40,499 shares during the period. 83.71% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

WAFD has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reissued a “market perform” rating and set a $40.00 price objective on shares of WaFd in a research report on Monday, October 21st. DA Davidson upped their price target on WaFd from $39.00 to $41.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, October 21st. Piper Sandler reduced their price objective on WaFd from $36.00 to $35.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, October 21st. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of WaFd from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 12th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, WaFd has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $38.00.

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.