WaFd (NASDAQ:WAFD) Downgraded by StockNews.com to Sell

StockNews.com cut shares of WaFd (NASDAQ:WAFD - Free Report) from a hold rating to a sell rating in a research report sent to investors on Tuesday morning.

WAFD has been the topic of a number of other research reports. Stephens reiterated an "equal weight" rating and set a $38.00 price target on shares of WaFd in a report on Friday, January 17th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their price target on WaFd from $42.00 to $34.00 and set a "market perform" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. Piper Sandler lowered their price target on WaFd from $37.00 to $31.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. Finally, DA Davidson downgraded WaFd from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and lowered their price target for the company from $35.00 to $32.00 in a report on Thursday, February 6th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and four have assigned a hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $33.75.

WaFd Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ WAFD traded down $0.10 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $29.59. The company had a trading volume of 784,836 shares, compared to its average volume of 535,339. The company has a current ratio of 1.04, a quick ratio of 1.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.05. The stock has a market cap of $2.41 billion, a PE ratio of 13.64 and a beta of 0.85. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $30.70 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $33.78. WaFd has a 1-year low of $25.78 and a 1-year high of $38.62.

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WaFd Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 7th. Investors of record on Friday, February 21st will be given a dividend of $0.27 per share. This is a boost from WaFd's previous quarterly dividend of $0.26. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 21st. This represents a $1.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.65%. WaFd's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 49.77%.

Institutional Trading of WaFd

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its position in WaFd by 7.4% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,225,248 shares of the bank's stock valued at $42,700,000 after purchasing an additional 84,155 shares during the last quarter. Citigroup Inc. lifted its position in shares of WaFd by 11.9% in the third quarter. Citigroup Inc. now owns 186,174 shares of the bank's stock worth $6,488,000 after buying an additional 19,751 shares during the last quarter. Barclays PLC lifted its position in shares of WaFd by 33.3% in the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 161,958 shares of the bank's stock worth $5,643,000 after buying an additional 40,499 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its position in shares of WaFd by 6.7% in the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 26,463 shares of the bank's stock worth $954,000 after buying an additional 1,669 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of WaFd by 28.6% in the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 428,504 shares of the bank's stock worth $14,933,000 after buying an additional 95,251 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.71% of the company's stock.

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.