WaFd (NASDAQ:WAFD) Shares Gap Down – What’s Next?

WaFd, Inc (NASDAQ:WAFD) gapped down before the market opened on Friday . The stock had previously closed at $36.95, but opened at $36.00. WaFd shares last traded at $36.08, with a volume of 53,101 shares.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

WAFD has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Stephens upped their price target on shares of WaFd from $32.00 to $36.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 18th. StockNews.com downgraded WaFd from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 3rd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, WaFd currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $34.25.

WaFd Price Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.52, a current ratio of 1.11 and a quick ratio of 1.09. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.94 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.75 and a beta of 0.83. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $35.28 and its 200 day simple moving average is $31.30.

WaFd (NASDAQ:WAFD) last released its quarterly earnings data 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. WaFd had a net margin of 14.13% and a return on equity of 9.58%. The company had revenue of $389.98 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $190.43 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.72 EPS. On average, research analysts forecast that WaFd, Inc will post 3 EPS for the current year.

WaFd Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 6th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 23rd were issued a dividend of $0.26 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 23rd. This represents a $1.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.88%. WaFd’s dividend payout ratio is 39.54%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On WaFd

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. raised its holdings in WaFd by 5.8% during the fourth quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 12,054 shares of the bank’s stock worth $397,000 after buying an additional 661 shares during the last quarter. Congress Asset Management Co. MA lifted its position in WaFd by 1.2% in the 1st quarter. Congress Asset Management Co. MA now owns 223,770 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $6,496,000 after acquiring an additional 2,688 shares in the last quarter. Cooper Financial Group bought a new position in WaFd in the 1st quarter valued at about $278,000. Hennessy Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in WaFd by 1.0% during the 1st quarter. Hennessy Advisors Inc. now owns 101,000 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $2,932,000 after purchasing an additional 1,000 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. increased its holdings in WaFd by 15.7% during the 1st quarter. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. now owns 14,194 shares of the bank’s stock worth $412,000 after purchasing an additional 1,928 shares in the last quarter. 83.71% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.