WaFd, Inc (NASDAQ:WAFD) to Issue Dividend Increase – $0.27 Per Share

WaFd, Inc (NASDAQ:WAFD) announced a quarterly dividend on Wednesday, February 12th,Wall Street Journal reports. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 21st will be given a dividend of 0.27 per share by the bank on Friday, March 7th. This represents a $1.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.67%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 21st. This is a positive change from WaFd’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.26.

WaFd has raised its dividend payment by an average of 4.2% per year over the last three years. WaFd has a payout ratio of 34.4% indicating that its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Equities research analysts expect WaFd to earn $3.00 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $1.04 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 34.7%.

WaFd Stock Down 4.0 %

Shares of WaFd stock traded down $1.23 on Wednesday, hitting $29.46. The company had a trading volume of 538,862 shares, compared to its average volume of 540,591. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $32.05 and a 200-day moving average of $34.16. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.40 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.58 and a beta of 0.85. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.05, a current ratio of 1.04 and a quick ratio of 1.08. WaFd has a twelve month low of $25.78 and a twelve month high of $38.62.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on WAFD shares. Stephens reaffirmed an “equal weight” rating and set a $38.00 price target on shares of WaFd in a research report on Friday, January 17th. Piper Sandler decreased their target price on shares of WaFd from $37.00 to $31.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their price target on shares of WaFd from $42.00 to $34.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. StockNews.com upgraded WaFd from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 12th. Finally, DA Davidson lowered WaFd from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and dropped their target price for the stock from $35.00 to $32.00 in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $33.75.

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.