WaFd (NASDAQ:WAFD) Stock Price Crosses Above 200-Day Moving Average – Here’s Why

WaFd, Inc. (NASDAQ:WAFD)’s stock price crossed above its 200-day moving average during trading on Wednesday . The stock has a 200-day moving average of $33.26 and traded as high as $37.30. WaFd shares last traded at $36.21, with a volume of 680,646 shares changing hands.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their target price on WaFd from $35.00 to $38.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Monday, April 20th. Weiss Ratings raised WaFd from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research report on Friday, May 22nd. Zacks Research raised WaFd from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, April 27th. Finally, Piper Sandler raised their price objective on WaFd from $30.50 to $36.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, April 20th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has issued a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, WaFd currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $34.80.

WaFd Stock Performance

The company has a current ratio of 0.97, a quick ratio of 0.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.14. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.70 billion, a PE ratio of 11.92 and a beta of 0.84. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $35.13 and its 200 day moving average price is $33.30.

WaFd (NASDAQ:WAFD) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, April 17th. The bank reported $0.83 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.74 by $0.09. The business had revenue of $197.66 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $190.51 million. WaFd had a return on equity of 8.94% and a net margin of 18.25%.During the same period last year, the company earned $0.17 earnings per share. On average, research analysts anticipate that WaFd, Inc. will post 3.27 earnings per share for the current year.

WaFd Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 5th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 22nd were paid a dividend of $0.27 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 22nd. This represents a $1.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.0%. WaFd’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 35.29%.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Kim E. Robison sold 22,000 shares of WaFd stock in a transaction dated Friday, April 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $35.28, for a total transaction of $776,160.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 116,099 shares in the company, valued at $4,095,972.72. The trade was a 15.93% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 1.49% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of WaFd

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its holdings in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 266,891 shares in the last quarter. ExodusPoint Capital Management LP boosted its holdings in WaFd by 373.8% in the fourth quarter. ExodusPoint Capital Management LP now owns 287,947 shares of the bank’s stock worth $9,223,000 after purchasing an additional 227,174 shares in the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE boosted its holdings in WaFd by 28.1% in the first quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 905,863 shares of the bank’s stock worth $28,444,000 after purchasing an additional 198,728 shares in the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. increased its position in WaFd by 52.0% during the fourth quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 448,716 shares of the bank’s stock worth $14,372,000 after buying an additional 153,556 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Ameriprise Financial Inc. raised its holdings in WaFd by 11.8% during the third quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 1,375,110 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $41,652,000 after buying an additional 145,646 shares in the last quarter. 83.71% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.