StockNews.com Downgrades WaFd (NASDAQ:WAFD) to Sell

WaFd (NASDAQ:WAFD) was downgraded by equities research analysts at StockNews.com from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note issued on Friday.

Several other research analysts have also recently issued reports on the company. Stephens reiterated an “equal weight” rating and issued a $38.00 price objective on shares of WaFd in a research report on Friday, January 17th. Piper Sandler cut their price target on shares of WaFd from $37.00 to $31.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their price objective on shares of WaFd from $42.00 to $34.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. Finally, DA Davidson lowered shares of WaFd from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and lowered their target price for the stock from $35.00 to $32.00 in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and four have assigned a hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, WaFd currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $33.75.

WaFd Stock Performance

NASDAQ WAFD traded down $1.34 on Friday, hitting $25.24. 818,016 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 505,422. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.05, a current ratio of 1.04 and a quick ratio of 1.04. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $29.06 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $32.52. The firm has a market cap of $2.06 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.63 and a beta of 0.83. WaFd has a fifty-two week low of $24.55 and a fifty-two week high of $38.62.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On WaFd

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in WAFD. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd raised its position in WaFd by 983.5% during the fourth quarter. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd now owns 1,116 shares of the bank’s stock worth $36,000 after acquiring an additional 1,013 shares during the last quarter. McIlrath & Eck LLC increased its stake in shares of WaFd by 112.7% during the 3rd quarter. McIlrath & Eck LLC now owns 1,323 shares of the bank’s stock worth $46,000 after purchasing an additional 701 shares in the last quarter. Harbour Investments Inc. raised its position in shares of WaFd by 29.6% during the 4th quarter. Harbour Investments Inc. now owns 1,752 shares of the bank’s stock worth $56,000 after purchasing an additional 400 shares during the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. lifted its stake in WaFd by 68.4% in the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 2,000 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $70,000 after buying an additional 812 shares in the last quarter. Finally, US Bancorp DE grew its holdings in WaFd by 136.7% during the 4th quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 3,638 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $117,000 after buying an additional 2,101 shares during the last quarter. 83.71% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.