WaFd (NASDAQ:WAFD) Shares Gap Down – What’s Next?

WaFd, Inc (NASDAQ:WAFD) shares gapped down prior to trading on Friday . The stock had previously closed at $31.01, but opened at $30.00. WaFd shares last traded at $29.91, with a volume of 151,573 shares.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on the company. DA Davidson lifted their price objective on WaFd from $39.00 to $41.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, October 21st. StockNews.com upgraded WaFd from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 12th. Piper Sandler decreased their target price on WaFd from $36.00 to $35.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, October 21st. Stephens reiterated an “equal weight” rating and set a $38.00 target price on shares of WaFd in a report on Friday. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reissued a “market perform” rating and set a $40.00 price target on shares of WaFd in a research report on Monday, October 21st. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $38.50.

WaFd Stock Down 2.5 %

The firm has a market cap of $2.46 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.20 and a beta of 0.87. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $34.38 and its 200 day moving average price is $34.37. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21, a current ratio of 1.08 and a quick ratio of 1.08.

WaFd (NASDAQ:WAFD) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 17th. The bank reported $0.71 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.70 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $389.98 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $190.43 million. WaFd had a net margin of 13.97% and a return on equity of 9.44%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.72 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts expect that WaFd, Inc will post 2.82 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

WaFd Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 6th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 22nd were issued a dividend of $0.26 per share. This represents a $1.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.44%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 22nd. WaFd’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 41.94%.

Insider Transactions at WaFd

In related news, EVP Ryan Mauer sold 12,132 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $33.33, for a total value of $404,359.56. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 100,376 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,345,532.08. This represents a 10.78 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Insiders own 1.46% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Blue Trust Inc. raised its position in shares of WaFd by 80.8% during the 3rd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,188 shares of the bank’s stock worth $41,000 after buying an additional 531 shares in the last quarter. McIlrath & Eck LLC raised its holdings in WaFd by 112.7% during the third quarter. McIlrath & Eck LLC now owns 1,323 shares of the bank’s stock worth $46,000 after purchasing an additional 701 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its position in WaFd by 515.8% in the third quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,558 shares of the bank’s stock worth $54,000 after purchasing an additional 1,305 shares during the period. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. lifted its holdings 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 valued at $47,000 after buying an additional 822 shares during the period. Finally, Covestor Ltd boosted its stake in WaFd by 60.1% during the third quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 1,904 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $66,000 after buying an additional 715 shares in the last quarter. 83.71% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.