WaFd, Inc (NASDAQ:WAFD) Sees Large Growth in Short Interest

WaFd, Inc (NASDAQ:WAFD - Get Free Report) was the target of a significant growth in short interest in December. As of December 15th, there was short interest totalling 1,610,000 shares, a growth of 26.8% from the November 30th total of 1,270,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 473,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 3.4 days.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on WAFD. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reiterated a "market perform" rating and issued a $40.00 price target on shares of WaFd in a report on Monday, October 21st. 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. Piper Sandler dropped their target price on shares of WaFd from $36.00 to $35.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note 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 assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, WaFd currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $38.00.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Ryan Mauer sold 12,132 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, November 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $33.33, for a total transaction of $404,359.56. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 100,376 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,345,532.08. This represents a 10.78 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Company insiders own 2.25% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On WaFd

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. State Street Corp boosted its stake in WaFd by 5.2% in the third 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 in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings 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 during the last quarter. Systematic Financial Management LP boosted its position in shares of WaFd by 21.5% in the 3rd quarter. Systematic Financial Management LP now owns 1,432,523 shares of the bank's stock worth $49,923,000 after purchasing an additional 253,044 shares in the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. boosted its position in shares of WaFd by 31.6% in the 2nd 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in WaFd by 7.4% during the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,225,248 shares of the bank's stock worth $42,700,000 after buying an additional 84,155 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 83.71% of the company's stock.

WaFd Stock Down 1.4 %

NASDAQ:WAFD traded down $0.46 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $32.61. The company's stock had a trading volume of 247,159 shares, compared to its average volume of 444,549. The company has a quick ratio of 1.08, a current ratio of 1.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21. WaFd has a 1 year low of $25.78 and a 1 year high of $38.62. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $35.26 and a 200-day moving average of $33.93. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.65 billion, a PE ratio of 13.15 and a beta of 0.84.

WaFd (NASDAQ:WAFD - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 17th. The bank reported $0.71 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.70 by $0.01. WaFd had a net margin of 13.97% and a return on equity of 9.44%. The business had revenue of $389.98 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $190.43 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.72 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that WaFd will post 2.82 earnings per share for the current year.

WaFd Announces Dividend

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

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.