WaFd (NASDAQ:WAFD) Sets New 1-Year High – Still a Buy?

WaFd, Inc. (NASDAQ:WAFD) shares hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Thursday . The company traded as high as $39.48 and last traded at $39.4650, with a volume of 365638 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $38.39.

More WaFd News

Here are the key news stories impacting WaFd this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Revenue came in above expectations, and management said net interest income, net interest margin, and non-interest income improved year over year, showing underlying business momentum. WaFd Announces Quarterly Earnings Per Share Of $0.84
• Positive Sentiment: Management highlighted growth in earnings, loans, and equity, and said diluted EPS rose year over year, suggesting the bank is still expanding despite a tougher operating environment. Washington Federal Earnings Call Highlights Growth Amid Headwinds
• Neutral Sentiment: Investors are also parsing the Q3 earnings-call transcript for guidance and commentary on credit quality, margins, and loan growth. WaFd, Inc. (WAFD) Q3 2026 Earnings Call Transcript
• Negative Sentiment: WaFd’s quarterly EPS missed consensus by a penny, and reports pointed to higher provisions and expenses, which likely weighed on sentiment even though revenue was stronger. WAFD Q3 Earnings Lag on Higher Provisions & Expenses, Revenues Up Y/Y
• Negative Sentiment: The earnings miss relative to consensus may be prompting profit-taking, even though the bank beat on revenue and reported year-over-year improvement. WaFd (WAFD) Lags Q3 Earnings Estimates

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on WAFD shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price target 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. Piper Sandler upped their price objective on shares of WaFd from $30.50 to $36.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, April 20th. Zacks Research downgraded WaFd from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, June 22nd. Finally, Weiss Ratings upgraded WaFd from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a report on Friday, May 22nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $34.80.

WaFd Stock Performance

The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $36.59 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $34.05. The stock has a market cap of $2.82 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.03 and a beta of 0.83. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.14, a current ratio of 0.97 and a quick ratio of 0.97.

WaFd (NASDAQ:WAFD) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 16th. The bank reported $0.81 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.82 by ($0.01). The firm had revenue of $205.52 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $199.56 million. WaFd had a return on equity of 8.98% and a net margin of 18.47%. As a group, research analysts forecast that WaFd, Inc. will post 3.24 EPS for the current year.

WaFd Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 5th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 22nd were issued a dividend of $0.27 per share. This represents a $1.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 22nd. WaFd’s payout ratio is presently 35.29%.

Insider Transactions at WaFd

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

Institutional Trading of WaFd

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Royal Bank of Canada lifted its holdings in WaFd by 14.5% during the 1st quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 22,011 shares of the bank’s stock worth $629,000 after buying an additional 2,783 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of WaFd by 271.2% in the first quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 30,794 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $867,000 after buying an additional 22,499 shares during the period. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. raised its position in shares of WaFd by 26.6% during the first quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 48,094 shares of the bank’s stock worth $1,375,000 after acquiring an additional 10,092 shares during the last quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC raised its position in shares of WaFd by 9.2% during the first quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 246,467 shares of the bank’s stock worth $7,044,000 after acquiring an additional 20,865 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Jane Street Group LLC raised its position in shares of WaFd by 862.6% during the first quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 69,306 shares of the bank’s stock worth $1,981,000 after acquiring an additional 62,106 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 83.71% of the company’s stock.

About WaFd

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.