WaFd, Inc (NASDAQ:WAFD) Short Interest Down 31.2% in October

WaFd, Inc (NASDAQ:WAFD) was the recipient of a significant decline in short interest in October. As of October 31st, there was short interest totalling 1,520,000 shares, a decline of 31.2% from the October 15th total of 2,210,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 534,200 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 2.8 days.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

WAFD has been the subject of several recent research reports. Stephens lifted their price objective on WaFd from $32.00 to $36.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 18th. DA Davidson lifted their price target on shares of WaFd from $39.00 to $41.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, October 21st. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reissued a “market perform” rating and issued a $40.00 price objective on shares of WaFd in a research report on Monday, October 21st. StockNews.com raised shares of WaFd from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Finally, Piper Sandler dropped their target price on WaFd from $36.00 to $35.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, October 21st. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, WaFd presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $38.00.

WaFd Stock Down 0.5 %

WAFD stock opened at $36.97 on Friday. The company’s 50 day moving average is $35.19 and its two-hundred day moving average is $32.25. WaFd has a twelve month low of $25.78 and a twelve month high of $38.58. 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 stock has a market cap of $3.00 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.91 and a beta of 0.83.

WaFd (NASDAQ:WAFD) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 17th. The bank reported $0.71 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.70 by $0.01. WaFd had a net margin of 13.97% and a return on equity of 9.44%. The firm had revenue of $389.98 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $190.43 million. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.72 EPS. Research analysts expect that WaFd will post 2.82 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

WaFd Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 6th. Investors of record on Friday, November 22nd will be given a $0.26 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 22nd. This represents a $1.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.81%. WaFd’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 41.94%.

Insider Activity at WaFd

In other WaFd news, EVP Ryan Mauer sold 12,132 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 4th. The shares were 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 owns 100,376 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,345,532.08. This trade represents a 10.78 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Company insiders own 2.25% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. acquired a new stake in shares of WaFd in the third quarter valued at approximately $18,583,000. American Century Companies Inc. raised its position in WaFd by 31.6% in the 2nd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 1,274,665 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $36,430,000 after purchasing an additional 305,942 shares during the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. boosted its stake in WaFd by 113.4% during the 2nd quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 272,721 shares of the bank’s stock worth $7,794,000 after purchasing an additional 144,920 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in WaFd by 1.6% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 7,902,461 shares of the bank’s stock worth $229,408,000 after purchasing an additional 125,020 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its stake in WaFd by 28.6% in the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 428,504 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $14,933,000 after purchasing an additional 95,251 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other 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.