Brokers Issue Forecasts for WaFd’s Q3 Earnings (NASDAQ:WAFD)

WaFd, Inc. (NASDAQ:WAFD) – Research analysts at Zacks Research lowered their Q3 2027 EPS estimates for shares of WaFd in a report released on Tuesday, June 23rd. Zacks Research analyst Team now anticipates that the bank will post earnings of $0.83 per share for the quarter, down from their previous forecast of $0.84. Zacks Research currently has a “Hold” rating on the stock. The consensus estimate for WaFd’s current full-year earnings is $3.27 per share. Zacks Research also issued estimates for WaFd’s FY2027 earnings at $3.35 EPS.

WaFd (NASDAQ:WAFD) last released its earnings results on Friday, April 17th. The bank reported $0.83 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.74 by $0.09. WaFd had a net margin of 18.25% and a return on equity of 8.94%. The business had revenue of $197.66 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $190.51 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.17 EPS.

Several other research firms have also recently issued reports on WAFD. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price target on WaFd from $35.00 to $38.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Monday, April 20th. Piper Sandler raised their price objective on WaFd from $30.50 to $36.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, April 20th. Finally, Weiss Ratings raised WaFd from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research note on Friday, May 22nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, WaFd presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $34.80.

WaFd Trading Up 1.3%

Shares of NASDAQ:WAFD opened at $37.74 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.79 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.33 and a beta of 0.84. WaFd has a 1-year low of $26.31 and a 1-year high of $38.59. 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 company has a 50 day moving average price of $35.47 and a 200 day moving average price of $33.44.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On WaFd

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its position in shares of WaFd by 0.5% in the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 4,980,089 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $159,514,000 after acquiring an additional 26,000 shares in the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. grew its position in WaFd by 2.0% during the 3rd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 2,077,059 shares of the bank’s stock worth $62,914,000 after purchasing an additional 40,569 shares in the last quarter. Systematic Financial Management LP grew its position in WaFd by 0.5% during the 4th quarter. Systematic Financial Management LP now owns 1,557,436 shares of the bank’s stock worth $49,885,000 after purchasing an additional 8,039 shares in the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. raised its stake in WaFd by 11.8% during the 3rd quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 1,375,110 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $41,652,000 after purchasing an additional 145,646 shares during the period. Finally, William Blair Investment Management LLC raised its stake in WaFd by 14.3% during the 3rd quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC now owns 1,100,312 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $33,328,000 after purchasing an additional 137,525 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.71% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at WaFd

In other WaFd news, EVP Kim E. Robison sold 22,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 $4,095,972.72. This trade represents a 15.93% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. 1.49% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

WaFd Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 5th. Shareholders 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 yield of 2.9%. WaFd’s dividend payout ratio is currently 35.29%.

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.