WaFd, Inc (NASDAQ:WAFD) Raises Dividend to $0.27 Per Share

WaFd, Inc (NASDAQ:WAFD) declared a quarterly dividend on Wednesday, February 12th,Wall Street Journal reports. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 21st will be paid a dividend of 0.27 per share by the bank on Friday, March 7th. This represents a $1.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.67%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 21st. This is a boost from WaFd’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.26.

WaFd has raised its dividend by an average of 4.2% annually over the last three years. WaFd has a payout ratio of 34.4% meaning its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Equities analysts expect WaFd to earn $3.00 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $1.04 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 34.7%.

WaFd Trading Down 4.0 %

Shares of WAFD opened at $29.46 on Thursday. WaFd has a 1-year low of $25.78 and a 1-year high of $38.62. The company has a current ratio of 1.04, a quick ratio of 1.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.05. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $32.05 and its 200-day moving average price is $34.16. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.40 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.58 and a beta of 0.85.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

WAFD has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Piper Sandler reduced their target price on WaFd from $37.00 to $31.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. StockNews.com upgraded shares of WaFd from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 12th. Stephens reiterated an “equal weight” rating and set a $38.00 target price on shares of WaFd in a report on Friday, January 17th. DA Davidson downgraded shares of WaFd from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and cut their price objective for the company from $35.00 to $32.00 in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their target price on WaFd from $42.00 to $34.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $33.75.

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.