WaFd (NASDAQ:WAFD) Shares Gap Down to $28.11

Shares of WaFd, Inc (NASDAQ:WAFD) gapped down before the market opened on Tuesday . The stock had previously closed at $28.11, but opened at $27.28. WaFd shares last traded at $28.69, with a volume of 29,125 shares.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have recently commented on the company. DA Davidson restated a “buy” rating and set a $35.00 target price on shares of WaFd in a report on Thursday, April 11th. StockNews.com lowered WaFd from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 21st. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their price target on WaFd from $37.00 to $35.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 18th. Finally, Stephens reaffirmed an “equal weight” rating and set a $32.00 price target on shares of WaFd in a research note on Tuesday.

WaFd Stock Down 0.7 %

The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $27.78 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $28.32. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.80, a current ratio of 1.15 and a quick ratio of 1.15. The stock has a market cap of $1.84 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.79 and a beta of 0.85.

WaFd Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 8th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 23rd were paid a $0.26 dividend. This is a positive change from WaFd’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 22nd. This represents a $1.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.66%. WaFd’s dividend payout ratio is presently 39.54%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On WaFd

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in WAFD. Lakeside Advisors INC. lifted its stake in WaFd by 6.7% in the third quarter. Lakeside Advisors INC. now owns 8,718 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $223,000 after buying an additional 546 shares during the period. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC raised its position in shares of WaFd by 28.6% during the third quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 25,099 shares of the bank’s stock worth $643,000 after purchasing an additional 5,580 shares during the period. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank raised its position in shares of WaFd by 23.8% during the third quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 11,616 shares of the bank’s stock worth $298,000 after purchasing an additional 2,230 shares during the period. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. raised its position in shares of WaFd by 10.5% during the third quarter. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. now owns 8,961 shares of the bank’s stock worth $230,000 after purchasing an additional 853 shares during the period. Finally, Panagora Asset Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of WaFd during the third quarter worth about $3,732,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.71% of the company’s stock.

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.