WaFd (NASDAQ:WAFD) Shares Gap Down – Time to Sell?

WaFd, Inc (NASDAQ:WAFD) shares gapped down before the market opened 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.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on WAFD shares. Stephens reissued an “equal weight” rating and set a $38.00 price target on shares of WaFd in a report on Friday. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reissued a “market perform” rating and issued a $40.00 target price on shares of WaFd in a report on Monday, October 21st. StockNews.com raised WaFd from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 12th. DA Davidson boosted their price objective on shares of WaFd from $39.00 to $41.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, October 21st. Finally, Piper Sandler reduced their target price 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. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $38.50.

WaFd Stock Down 2.5 %

The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $34.38 and its 200 day simple moving average is $34.37. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21, a quick ratio of 1.08 and a current ratio of 1.08. The company has a market capitalization of $2.46 billion, a PE ratio of 12.20 and a beta of 0.87.

WaFd (NASDAQ:WAFD) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, October 17th. The bank reported $0.71 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.70 by $0.01. WaFd had a net margin of 13.97% and a return on equity of 9.44%. The company had revenue of $389.98 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $190.43 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.72 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that WaFd, Inc will post 2.82 earnings per share for the current year.

WaFd Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 6th. Investors of record on Friday, November 22nd were paid a $0.26 dividend. This represents a $1.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.44%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 22nd. WaFd’s payout ratio is currently 41.94%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other WaFd news, EVP Ryan Mauer sold 12,132 shares of WaFd stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $33.33, for a total transaction of $404,359.56. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 100,376 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,345,532.08. The trade was a 10.78 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. 1.46% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On WaFd

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Cooper Financial Group raised its position in shares of WaFd by 3.2% in the fourth quarter. Cooper Financial Group now owns 11,134 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $359,000 after buying an additional 345 shares during the last quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. raised its holdings in WaFd by 1.1% in the 3rd quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. now owns 41,400 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $1,443,000 after acquiring an additional 437 shares during the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. lifted its stake in shares of WaFd by 80.8% during the 3rd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,188 shares of the bank’s stock worth $41,000 after purchasing an additional 531 shares during the period. McIlrath & Eck LLC boosted its holdings in shares of WaFd by 112.7% during the third quarter. McIlrath & Eck LLC now owns 1,323 shares of the bank’s stock worth $46,000 after purchasing an additional 701 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Covestor Ltd increased its stake in WaFd by 60.1% in the third quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 1,904 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $66,000 after purchasing an additional 715 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.71% of the company’s stock.

About WaFd

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.