WaFd (NASDAQ:WAFD) Hits New 52-Week Low – Time to Sell?

WaFd, Inc (NASDAQ:WAFD) shares reached a new 52-week low on Thursday . The stock traded as low as $23.91 and last traded at $26.43, with a volume of 955177 shares. The stock had previously closed at $24.79.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on WAFD shares. Stephens reissued an “equal weight” rating and issued a $38.00 target price on shares of WaFd in a research report on Friday, January 17th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their target price on shares of WaFd from $42.00 to $34.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. StockNews.com lowered shares of WaFd from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Friday, April 4th. Piper Sandler reduced their price target on shares of WaFd from $37.00 to $31.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. Finally, DA Davidson lowered shares of WaFd from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and cut their target price for the company from $35.00 to $32.00 in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and four have assigned a hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, WaFd presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $33.75.

WaFd Stock Up 6.6 %

The business’s fifty day moving average price is $28.63 and its 200 day moving average price is $32.16. The company has a market capitalization of $2.16 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.18 and a beta of 0.79. The company has a current ratio of 1.04, a quick ratio of 1.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.05.

WaFd Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 7th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 21st were paid a $0.27 dividend. This represents a $1.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.09%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 21st. This is a positive change from WaFd’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.26. WaFd’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 49.77%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Rhino Investment Partners Inc lifted its stake in WaFd by 344.3% in the fourth quarter. Rhino Investment Partners Inc now owns 454,343 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $14,648,000 after buying an additional 352,076 shares in the last quarter. Basswood Capital Management L.L.C. acquired a new stake in shares of WaFd in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $9,210,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its holdings in WaFd by 152.9% during the fourth quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 469,704 shares of the bank’s stock worth $15,143,000 after buying an additional 283,953 shares during the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. increased its holdings in WaFd by 15.3% during the fourth quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 1,774,081 shares of the bank’s stock worth $57,196,000 after buying an additional 234,977 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank acquired a new position in WaFd during the fourth quarter worth $6,539,000. 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.