WaFd (NASDAQ:WAFD) Receives Equal Weight Rating from Stephens

WaFd (NASDAQ:WAFD - Get Free Report)'s stock had its "equal weight" rating reaffirmed by equities researchers at Stephens in a research report issued on Friday,Benzinga reports. They currently have a $38.00 target price on the bank's stock. Stephens' target price points to a potential upside of 25.62% from the company's previous close.

A number of other equities research analysts have also recently commented on the stock. DA Davidson lifted their price target on shares of WaFd from $39.00 to $41.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, October 21st. StockNews.com raised shares of WaFd from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, November 12th. Piper Sandler lowered their target price 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, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reissued a "market perform" rating and set a $40.00 target price on shares of WaFd in a report on Monday, October 21st. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $38.50.

WaFd Stock Performance

Shares of WaFd stock traded down $0.76 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $30.25. 1,302,195 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 413,788. WaFd has a 12 month low of $25.78 and a 12 month high of $38.62. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $34.38 and a 200 day simple moving average of $34.37. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21, a quick ratio of 1.08 and a current ratio of 1.08. The company has a market capitalization of $2.46 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.20 and a beta of 0.87.

WaFd (NASDAQ:WAFD - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, October 17th. The bank reported $0.71 EPS for the quarter, topping 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 firm had revenue of $389.98 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $190.43 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.72 EPS. Sell-side analysts anticipate that WaFd will post 2.82 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at WaFd

In other news, EVP Ryan Mauer sold 12,132 shares of the business'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 completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 100,376 shares in the company, valued at $3,345,532.08. The trade was a 10.78 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Insiders own 1.46% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Renaissance Technologies LLC grew its position in WaFd by 24.1% in the second quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 139,530 shares of the bank's stock worth $3,988,000 after acquiring an additional 27,100 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its position in WaFd by 7.4% in the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,225,248 shares of the bank's stock worth $42,700,000 after acquiring an additional 84,155 shares in the last quarter. Citigroup Inc. grew its position in 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 acquiring an additional 19,751 shares in the last quarter. Barclays PLC grew its position in 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 acquiring an additional 40,499 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. grew its position in 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 acquiring an additional 1,669 shares in the last quarter. 83.71% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other 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.