WaFd (NASDAQ:WAFD) Announces Earnings Results, Misses Expectations By $0.02 EPS

WaFd (NASDAQ:WAFD) released its earnings results on Thursday. The bank reported $0.81 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.83 by ($0.02), Zacks reports. WaFd had a return on equity of 8.94% and a net margin of 18.25%.

WaFd Trading Up 2.4%

WAFD traded up $0.93 on Thursday, hitting $39.32. 788,892 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 629,675. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.14, a quick ratio of 0.97 and a current ratio of 0.97. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $36.47 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $33.98. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.91 billion, a PE ratio of 12.85 and a beta of 0.83. WaFd has a 12 month low of $26.31 and a 12 month high of $39.49.

WaFd Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 5th. Investors of record on Friday, May 22nd were given a dividend of $0.27 per share. This represents a $1.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.7%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 22nd. WaFd’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 35.29%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other WaFd news, EVP Kim E. Robison sold 22,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, April 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $35.28, for a total value of $776,160.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 116,099 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,095,972.72. The trade was a 15.93% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders own 1.49% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its position in WaFd by 399.4% during the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 333,712 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $10,689,000 after buying an additional 266,891 shares during the period. ExodusPoint Capital Management LP increased its position in shares of WaFd by 373.8% in the fourth quarter. ExodusPoint Capital Management LP now owns 287,947 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $9,223,000 after acquiring an additional 227,174 shares during the period. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. increased its position in shares of WaFd by 52.0% in the fourth quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 448,716 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $14,372,000 after acquiring an additional 153,556 shares during the period. Ameriprise Financial Inc. increased its position in shares of WaFd by 11.8% in the third quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 1,375,110 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $41,652,000 after acquiring an additional 145,646 shares during the period. Finally, Millennium Management LLC raised its stake in shares of WaFd by 1,533.5% during the third quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 146,578 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $4,440,000 after acquiring an additional 137,605 shares during the last quarter. 83.71% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

WAFD has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of WaFd from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research report on Friday, May 22nd. Zacks Research cut shares of WaFd from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, June 22nd. Piper Sandler increased their target price on shares of WaFd from $30.50 to $36.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, April 20th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their target price on shares of WaFd from $35.00 to $38.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Monday, April 20th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $34.80.

WaFd Company Profile

Washington Federal, Inc, doing business as WaFd Bank, is a publicly traded bank holding company headquartered in Seattle, Washington. Through its subsidiary, WaFd Bank, the company provides a range of banking and financial services to individuals, small-to-medium enterprises, and commercial clients. Established in 1917 as Ballard Savings & Loan in Seattle, the institution expanded over decades to serve customers across the Western United States under the Washington Federal name and has operated as a public company since the early 1980s.

WaFd Bank’s core offerings encompass deposit accounts such as checking, savings, money market, and certificates of deposit, alongside consumer and commercial lending products.