WaFd (NASDAQ:WAFD) Shares Gap Down - Time to Sell?

WaFd, Inc (NASDAQ:WAFD - Get Free Report)'s stock price gapped down before the market opened on Friday . The stock had previously closed at $31.01, but opened at $30.00. WaFd shares last traded at $29.91, with a volume of 151,573 shares trading hands.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages recently commented on WAFD. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reaffirmed a "market perform" rating and issued a $40.00 target price on shares of WaFd in a research note on Monday, October 21st. Piper Sandler decreased their price objective on shares of WaFd from $36.00 to $35.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, October 21st. DA Davidson increased their target price 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 upgraded WaFd from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, November 12th. Finally, Stephens reaffirmed an "equal weight" rating and set a $38.00 price target on shares of WaFd in a research report on Friday. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, WaFd currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $38.50.

WaFd Price Performance

The company has a current ratio of 1.08, a quick ratio of 1.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21. The business's 50 day moving average price is $34.38 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $34.37. The stock has a market cap 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 quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 17th. The bank reported $0.71 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.70 by $0.01. WaFd had a return on equity of 9.44% and a net margin of 13.97%. The business had revenue of $389.98 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $190.43 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.72 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that WaFd, Inc will post 2.82 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

WaFd Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 6th. Investors 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 dividend yield of 3.44%. WaFd's dividend payout ratio is presently 41.94%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Ryan Mauer sold 12,132 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated 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. The trade was a 10.78 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 1.46% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On WaFd

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. increased its stake in WaFd by 8.0% during the 2nd quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 125,241 shares of the bank's stock valued at $3,579,000 after purchasing an additional 9,295 shares in the last quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC increased its position in shares of WaFd by 24.1% during the second quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 139,530 shares of the bank's stock valued at $3,988,000 after acquiring an additional 27,100 shares in the last quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC raised its holdings in WaFd by 282.6% in the 2nd quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 36,079 shares of the bank's stock worth $1,019,000 after acquiring an additional 26,648 shares during the last quarter. Profund Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of WaFd in the 2nd quarter worth $205,000. Finally, Public Sector Pension Investment Board raised its stake in shares of WaFd by 6.8% in the second quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 148,684 shares of the bank's stock worth $4,249,000 after purchasing an additional 9,446 shares during 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.