Zacks Research Issues Negative Forecast for WaFd Earnings

WaFd, Inc (NASDAQ:WAFD) – Stock analysts at Zacks Research reduced their Q1 2025 EPS estimates for WaFd in a research note issued on Tuesday, November 12th. Zacks Research analyst S. Shah now forecasts that the bank will earn $0.68 per share for the quarter, down from their prior forecast of $0.69. The consensus estimate for WaFd’s current full-year earnings is $2.83 per share. Zacks Research also issued estimates for WaFd’s Q2 2025 earnings at $0.67 EPS, Q3 2025 earnings at $0.71 EPS, Q4 2025 earnings at $0.79 EPS, FY2025 earnings at $2.86 EPS, Q1 2026 earnings at $0.80 EPS, Q2 2026 earnings at $0.82 EPS, Q3 2026 earnings at $0.79 EPS, Q4 2026 earnings at $0.83 EPS and FY2026 earnings at $3.23 EPS.

A number of other analysts have also weighed in on WAFD. DA Davidson upped their target price 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. Stephens upped their target price on shares of WaFd from $32.00 to $36.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 18th. StockNews.com raised WaFd from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday. Piper Sandler lowered their price target on WaFd from $36.00 to $35.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Monday, October 21st. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reaffirmed a “market perform” rating and issued a $40.00 price target on shares of WaFd in a report on Monday, October 21st. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently 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 Thursday. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $35.19 and its 200 day moving average price is $32.25. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21, a quick ratio of 1.09 and a current ratio of 1.08. WaFd has a fifty-two week low of $25.78 and a fifty-two week high of $38.58. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.00 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.91 and a beta of 0.83.

WaFd (NASDAQ:WAFD) last released its earnings results on Thursday, October 17th. The bank reported $0.71 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 in the prior year, the firm earned $0.72 earnings per share.

WaFd Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 6th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 22nd will be issued a $0.26 dividend. This represents a $1.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.81%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 22nd. WaFd’s payout ratio is currently 41.94%.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Ryan Mauer sold 12,132 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $33.33, for a total value of $404,359.56. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 100,376 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,345,532.08. This represents a 10.78 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 2.25% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On WaFd

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of WAFD. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of WaFd by 1.6% during the first 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 period. American Century Companies Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of WaFd by 31.6% during the second quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 1,274,665 shares of the bank’s stock worth $36,430,000 after purchasing an additional 305,942 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of WaFd by 7.4% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,225,248 shares of the bank’s stock worth $42,700,000 after purchasing an additional 84,155 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its holdings in shares of WaFd by 1.3% during the second quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 728,619 shares of the bank’s stock worth $20,824,000 after purchasing an additional 9,262 shares during the period. Finally, Clearbridge Investments LLC lifted its holdings in shares of WaFd by 2.2% during the first quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 606,140 shares of the bank’s stock worth $17,596,000 after purchasing an additional 12,910 shares during the period. 83.71% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.