WaFd (NASDAQ:WAFD) Sets New 52-Week Low - What's Next?

WaFd, Inc (NASDAQ:WAFD - Get Free Report)'s stock price hit a new 52-week low on Friday . The company traded as low as $24.65 and last traded at $24.61, with a volume of 222159 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $26.58.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages recently commented on WAFD. Stephens reissued an "equal weight" rating and set a $38.00 price target on shares of WaFd in a research note on Friday, January 17th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their target price on shares of WaFd from $42.00 to $34.00 and set a "market perform" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. Piper Sandler lowered their price objective on shares of WaFd from $37.00 to $31.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. DA Davidson cut WaFd from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and reduced their price objective for the stock from $35.00 to $32.00 in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded WaFd from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Friday, April 4th. 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 MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $33.75.

WaFd Stock Up 6.6 %

The business's 50 day moving average is $28.77 and its 200-day moving average is $32.26. The stock has a market cap of $2.16 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.18 and a beta of 0.79. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.05, a quick ratio of 1.04 and a current ratio of 1.04.

WaFd Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 7th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 21st were issued a $0.27 dividend. This is an increase from WaFd's previous quarterly dividend of $0.26. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 21st. This represents a $1.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.09%. WaFd's dividend payout ratio is presently 49.77%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On WaFd

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in WAFD. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd raised its position in shares of WaFd by 983.5% during the 4th quarter. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd now owns 1,116 shares of the bank's stock valued at $36,000 after buying an additional 1,013 shares during the period. McIlrath & Eck LLC boosted its position in WaFd by 112.7% in the 3rd quarter. McIlrath & Eck LLC now owns 1,323 shares of the bank's stock valued at $46,000 after buying an additional 701 shares during the period. Harbour Investments Inc. grew its position in shares of WaFd by 29.6% during the fourth quarter. Harbour Investments Inc. now owns 1,752 shares of the bank's stock worth $56,000 after buying an additional 400 shares in the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. lifted its position in shares of WaFd by 68.4% during the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 2,000 shares of the bank's stock worth $70,000 after purchasing an additional 812 shares during the last quarter. Finally, US Bancorp DE lifted its holdings in WaFd by 136.7% during the 4th quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 3,638 shares of the bank's stock worth $117,000 after buying an additional 2,101 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.71% of the company's stock.

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.