Zacks Research Weighs in on WaFd’s Q1 Earnings (NASDAQ:WAFD)

WaFd, Inc (NASDAQ:WAFD) – Equities researchers at Zacks Research lowered their Q1 2026 earnings per share estimates for shares of WaFd in a research report issued on Wednesday, October 16th. Zacks Research analyst S. Shah now anticipates that the bank will post earnings per share of $0.86 for the quarter, down from their prior estimate of $0.87. The consensus estimate for WaFd’s current full-year earnings is $3.00 per share. Zacks Research also issued estimates for WaFd’s Q4 2026 earnings at $0.98 EPS.

WaFd (NASDAQ:WAFD) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, October 17th. The bank reported $0.71 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.70 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $389.98 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $190.43 million. WaFd had a return on equity of 9.58% and a net margin of 14.13%. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.72 earnings per share.

WAFD has been the subject of several other research reports. StockNews.com lowered shares of WaFd from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 3rd. Stephens increased their target price on WaFd from $32.00 to $36.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, July 18th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $34.25.

WaFd Price Performance

NASDAQ:WAFD opened at $36.17 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.52, a quick ratio of 1.09 and a current ratio of 1.11. The company has a 50-day moving average of $35.28 and a 200-day moving average of $31.30. WaFd has a 52 week low of $23.36 and a 52 week high of $37.49. The company has a market capitalization of $2.94 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.75 and a beta of 0.83.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Blue Trust Inc. lifted its position in 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 buying an additional 531 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its position in shares of WaFd by 515.8% during the third quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,558 shares of the bank’s stock worth $54,000 after purchasing an additional 1,305 shares in the last quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. grew its stake in shares of WaFd by 100.0% during the second quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 1,644 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $47,000 after purchasing an additional 822 shares during the last quarter. nVerses Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of WaFd in the second quarter valued at approximately $80,000. Finally, SG Americas Securities LLC bought a new position in WaFd in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $194,000. 83.71% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

WaFd Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 6th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 23rd were given a $0.26 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 23rd. This represents a $1.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.88%. WaFd’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 39.54%.

WaFd Company Profile

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.