Zacks Research Has Negative Outlook for WaFd Q2 Earnings

WaFd, Inc (NASDAQ:WAFD) – Research analysts at Zacks Research lowered their Q2 2026 EPS estimates for WaFd in a report released on Wednesday, December 18th. Zacks Research analyst S. Shah now expects that the bank will earn $0.81 per share for the quarter, down from their prior forecast of $0.82. The consensus estimate for WaFd’s current full-year earnings is $2.82 per share. Zacks Research also issued estimates for WaFd’s Q4 2026 earnings at $0.82 EPS, FY2026 earnings at $3.22 EPS and FY2027 earnings at $3.34 EPS.

WaFd (NASDAQ:WAFD) last released its earnings results on Thursday, October 17th. The bank reported $0.71 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.70 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $389.98 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $190.43 million. WaFd had a return on equity of 9.44% and a net margin of 13.97%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.72 EPS.

Other equities research analysts have also issued research reports about the stock. DA Davidson lifted their price objective on shares of WaFd from $39.00 to $41.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, October 21st. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods restated a “market perform” rating and issued a $40.00 price objective on shares of WaFd in a report on Monday, October 21st. Piper Sandler cut their price objective on shares of WaFd from $36.00 to $35.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, October 21st. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded WaFd from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 12th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, WaFd has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $38.00.

WaFd Price Performance

WAFD opened at $32.64 on Friday. WaFd has a 52-week low of $25.78 and a 52-week high of $38.62. The stock has a market cap of $2.66 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.16 and a beta of 0.84. The business has a fifty day moving average of $35.62 and a 200 day moving average of $33.63. The company has a quick ratio of 1.08, a current ratio of 1.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Blue Trust Inc. lifted its stake in WaFd by 80.8% in the 3rd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,188 shares of the bank’s stock worth $41,000 after purchasing an additional 531 shares in the last quarter. McIlrath & Eck LLC raised its position in shares of WaFd by 112.7% during the 3rd quarter. McIlrath & Eck LLC now owns 1,323 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $46,000 after buying an additional 701 shares during the period. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. lifted its holdings in WaFd by 100.0% in the second quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 1,644 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $47,000 after acquiring an additional 822 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its stake in shares of WaFd by 515.8% in the third quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,558 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $54,000 after buying an additional 1,305 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Covestor Ltd increased its position in shares of WaFd by 60.1% during the third quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 1,904 shares of the bank’s stock worth $66,000 after acquiring an additional 715 shares during the period. 83.71% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at WaFd

In related news, EVP Ryan Mauer sold 12,132 shares of WaFd stock in a transaction that occurred 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 directly owns 100,376 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,345,532.08. This trade represents a 10.78 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 2.25% of the stock is owned by insiders.

WaFd Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 6th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 22nd were issued a dividend of $0.26 per share. This represents a $1.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.19%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 22nd. WaFd’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 41.94%.

About WaFd

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.