WaFd (NASDAQ:WAFD) Given “Equal Weight” Rating at Stephens

WaFd (NASDAQ:WAFD)‘s stock had its “equal weight” rating reaffirmed by investment analysts at Stephens in a note issued to investors on Friday,Benzinga reports. They currently have a $38.00 target price on the bank’s stock. Stephens’ price target indicates a potential upside of 24.96% from the stock’s current price.

A number of other research analysts also recently commented on the company. Piper Sandler reduced 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. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reaffirmed a “market perform” rating and issued a $40.00 price objective on shares of WaFd in a report on Monday, October 21st. StockNews.com raised shares of WaFd from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 12th. Finally, DA Davidson lifted their price target on shares of WaFd from $39.00 to $41.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, October 21st. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, WaFd presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $38.50.

WaFd Stock Down 1.9 %

WAFD traded down $0.60 on Friday, reaching $30.41. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 408,161 shares, compared to its average volume of 588,207. WaFd has a 1 year low of $25.78 and a 1 year high of $38.62. The business’s 50 day moving average is $34.51 and its 200 day moving average is $34.32. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21, a current ratio of 1.08 and a quick ratio of 1.08. The stock has a market cap of $2.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.26 and a beta of 0.87.

WaFd (NASDAQ:WAFD) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 17th. The bank reported $0.71 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 net margin of 13.97% and a return on equity of 9.44%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.72 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts forecast that WaFd will post 2.82 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at WaFd

In other WaFd news, EVP Ryan Mauer sold 12,132 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, November 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $33.33, for a total transaction of $404,359.56. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 100,376 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,345,532.08. The trade was a 10.78 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 1.46% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. acquired a new stake in WaFd in the third quarter worth approximately $18,583,000. Systematic Financial Management LP grew its holdings in WaFd by 21.5% during the third quarter. Systematic Financial Management LP now owns 1,432,523 shares of the bank’s stock worth $49,923,000 after acquiring an additional 253,044 shares during the period. State Street Corp lifted its holdings in WaFd by 5.2% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 3,969,790 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $138,347,000 after acquiring an additional 195,845 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of WaFd by 10.0% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,759,135 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $61,318,000 after purchasing an additional 159,750 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of WaFd by 28.6% in the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 428,504 shares of the bank’s stock worth $14,933,000 after purchasing an additional 95,251 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.