WaFd, Inc (NASDAQ:WAFD) Short Interest Down 31.2% in October

WaFd, Inc (NASDAQ:WAFD) was the recipient of a significant decrease in short interest in October. As of October 31st, there was short interest totalling 1,520,000 shares, a decrease of 31.2% from the October 15th total of 2,210,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 534,200 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 2.8 days.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on WAFD shares. Piper Sandler decreased their price objective on WaFd from $36.00 to $35.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Monday, October 21st. DA Davidson increased their target price on shares of WaFd from $39.00 to $41.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, October 21st. StockNews.com raised WaFd from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reissued a “market perform” rating and issued a $40.00 price objective on shares of WaFd in a research note on Monday, October 21st. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, WaFd presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $38.00.

Insider Activity at WaFd

In other WaFd news, EVP Ryan Mauer sold 12,132 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $33.33, for a total transaction of $404,359.56. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 100,376 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,345,532.08. This trade represents a 10.78 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 2.25% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On WaFd

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Barclays PLC raised its position in shares of WaFd by 33.3% during the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 161,958 shares of the bank’s stock worth $5,643,000 after purchasing an additional 40,499 shares during the last quarter. MML Investors Services LLC lifted its position in shares of WaFd by 7.3% in the third quarter. MML Investors Services LLC now owns 15,835 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $552,000 after acquiring an additional 1,077 shares in the last quarter. Dean Investment Associates LLC boosted its stake in shares of WaFd by 39.2% during the third quarter. Dean Investment Associates LLC now owns 70,060 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $2,442,000 after acquiring an additional 19,716 shares during the last quarter. Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC lifted its holdings in WaFd by 5.4% in the 3rd quarter. Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC now owns 39,465 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $1,375,000 after purchasing an additional 2,025 shares in the last quarter. Finally, XTX Topco Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of WaFd during the 3rd quarter worth about $355,000. 83.71% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

WaFd Trading Down 0.0 %

NASDAQ:WAFD opened at $36.96 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21, a quick ratio of 1.09 and a current ratio of 1.08. WaFd has a 1 year low of $25.78 and a 1 year high of $38.58. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.00 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.90 and a beta of 0.83. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $35.21 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $32.28.

WaFd (NASDAQ:WAFD) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 17th. The bank reported $0.71 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.70 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $389.98 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $190.43 million. WaFd had a net margin of 13.97% and a return on equity of 9.44%. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.72 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that WaFd will post 2.82 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

WaFd Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 6th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 22nd will be given a $0.26 dividend. This represents a $1.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.81%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 22nd. WaFd’s dividend payout ratio is currently 41.94%.

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.