WaFd (NASDAQ:WAFD) Stock Rating Lowered by Wall Street Zen

WaFd (NASDAQ:WAFD) was downgraded by analysts at Wall Street Zen from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Saturday.

A number of other research firms also recently issued reports on WAFD. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price target on WaFd from $31.00 to $34.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 20th. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of WaFd in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Royal Bank Of Canada set a $34.00 target price on shares of WaFd in a report on Tuesday, January 20th. Finally, Piper Sandler dropped their price target on shares of WaFd from $33.50 to $30.50 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, January 20th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating, Based on data from MarketBeat.com, WaFd presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $32.90.

WaFd Price Performance

Shares of WAFD opened at $32.62 on Friday. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $32.57 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $31.05. The firm has a market cap of $2.49 billion, a PE ratio of 11.29 and a beta of 0.86. The company has a current ratio of 0.95, a quick ratio of 0.96 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89. WaFd has a 1-year low of $23.75 and a 1-year high of $33.92.

WaFd (NASDAQ:WAFD) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 16th. The bank reported $0.75 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.76 by ($0.01). The firm had revenue of $188.32 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $193.36 million. WaFd had a return on equity of 8.67% and a net margin of 17.45%. On average, equities analysts anticipate that WaFd will post 2.56 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at WaFd

In other news, CEO Brent J. Beardall acquired 3,000 shares of WaFd stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, December 3rd. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $16.85 per share, with a total value of $50,550.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the chief executive officer directly owned 6,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $101,100. This trade represents a 100.00% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 1.49% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of WAFD. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in WaFd by 9.3% in the 4th quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 4,092 shares of the bank’s stock worth $131,000 after buying an additional 349 shares during the period. Sanctuary Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of WaFd by 3.8% in the fourth quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC now owns 9,539 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $306,000 after acquiring an additional 350 shares in the last quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. boosted its stake in shares of WaFd by 42.8% in the second quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 1,174 shares of the bank’s stock worth $34,000 after acquiring an additional 352 shares during the period. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of WaFd by 2.7% in the third quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 14,070 shares of the bank’s stock worth $426,000 after acquiring an additional 374 shares during the period. Finally, California State Teachers Retirement System grew its position in shares of WaFd by 0.6% during the second quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 75,005 shares of the bank’s stock worth $2,196,000 after purchasing an additional 420 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.71% of the company’s stock.

About WaFd

Washington Federal, Inc, doing business as WaFd Bank, is a publicly traded bank holding company headquartered in Seattle, Washington. Through its subsidiary, WaFd Bank, the company provides a range of banking and financial services to individuals, small-to-medium enterprises, and commercial clients. Established in 1917 as Ballard Savings & Loan in Seattle, the institution expanded over decades to serve customers across the Western United States under the Washington Federal name and has operated as a public company since the early 1980s.

WaFd Bank’s core offerings encompass deposit accounts such as checking, savings, money market, and certificates of deposit, alongside consumer and commercial lending products.