WaFd (NASDAQ:WAFD) Shares Gap Down – Should You Sell?

WaFd, Inc (NASDAQ:WAFD)’s share price gapped down prior to trading 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 changing hands.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

WAFD has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Piper Sandler dropped their price objective on shares of WaFd from $36.00 to $35.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, October 21st. Stephens reissued an “equal weight” rating and issued a $38.00 price target on shares of WaFd in a research report on Friday. DA Davidson upped their price objective on WaFd from $39.00 to $41.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, October 21st. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reiterated a “market perform” rating and set a $40.00 price objective on shares of WaFd in a research note on Monday, October 21st. Finally, StockNews.com raised 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 company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $38.50.

WaFd Stock Down 0.6 %

The firm has a market capitalization of $2.51 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.40 and a beta of 0.87. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $34.51 and a 200 day moving average price of $34.32. The company has a current ratio of 1.08, a quick ratio of 1.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21.

WaFd (NASDAQ:WAFD) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 17th. The bank reported $0.71 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.70 by $0.01. WaFd had a return on equity of 9.44% and a net margin of 13.97%. The company had revenue of $389.98 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $190.43 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.72 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts anticipate that WaFd, Inc will post 2.82 EPS for the current fiscal year.

WaFd Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 6th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 22nd were issued a dividend of $0.26 per share. This represents a $1.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.38%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 22nd. WaFd’s dividend payout ratio is currently 41.94%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Ryan Mauer sold 12,132 shares of WaFd stock in a transaction on Monday, November 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $33.33, for a total value of $404,359.56. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 100,376 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,345,532.08. This trade represents a 10.78 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders own 1.46% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On WaFd

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. acquired a new position in WaFd during the 3rd quarter valued at about $18,583,000. Systematic Financial Management LP raised its stake in shares of WaFd by 21.5% during the third quarter. Systematic Financial Management LP now owns 1,432,523 shares of the bank’s stock worth $49,923,000 after buying an additional 253,044 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp lifted its holdings 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 buying an additional 195,845 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in WaFd by 10.0% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,759,135 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $61,318,000 after acquiring an additional 159,750 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its holdings in WaFd by 28.6% during the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 428,504 shares of the bank’s stock worth $14,933,000 after acquiring an additional 95,251 shares during the period. Institutional investors 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.