WaFd (NASDAQ:WAFD) Hits New 52-Week High – Here’s Why

WaFd, Inc (NASDAQ:WAFD) reached a new 52-week high on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $37.52 and last traded at $37.42, with a volume of 399234 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $34.01.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods restated a “market perform” rating and set a $40.00 price target on shares of WaFd in a research report on Monday, October 21st. Piper Sandler decreased their price objective on shares of WaFd from $36.00 to $35.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, October 21st. DA Davidson increased their target price on shares of WaFd from $39.00 to $41.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, October 21st. StockNews.com cut WaFd from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 3rd. Finally, Stephens upped their price target on WaFd from $32.00 to $36.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 18th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $38.00.

WaFd Trading Up 11.9 %

The company has a current ratio of 1.08, a quick ratio of 1.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21. The company has a market cap of $3.09 billion, a PE ratio of 15.35 and a beta of 0.83. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $35.12 and a 200 day moving average price of $31.93.

WaFd (NASDAQ:WAFD) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 17th. The bank reported $0.71 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.70 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $389.98 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $190.43 million. WaFd had a return on equity of 9.44% and a net margin of 13.97%. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.72 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts predict that WaFd, Inc will post 2.99 EPS for the current fiscal year.

WaFd Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.73%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 23rd. WaFd’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 41.94%.

Insider Buying and Selling at WaFd

In related news, EVP Ryan Mauer sold 12,132 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $33.33, for a total value of $404,359.56. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 100,376 shares in the company, valued at $3,345,532.08. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 2.25% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of WaFd

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Blue Trust Inc. boosted its position in shares of WaFd by 80.8% during the third quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,188 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $41,000 after buying an additional 531 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its stake in WaFd by 515.8% during 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 last quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. lifted its holdings in shares of WaFd by 100.0% during the 2nd 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. Covestor Ltd boosted its stake in shares of WaFd by 60.1% in the 3rd quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 1,904 shares of the bank’s stock worth $66,000 after buying an additional 715 shares during the last quarter. Finally, KBC Group NV boosted its stake in shares of WaFd by 35.1% in the 3rd quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 2,797 shares of the bank’s stock worth $97,000 after buying an additional 726 shares during the last quarter. 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.