Several brokerages have updated their recommendations and price targets on shares of Washington Federal (NASDAQ: WAFD) in the last few weeks:
2/11/2019 – Washington Federal was downgraded by analysts at Zacks Investment Research from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating. According to Zacks, “Shares of Washington Federal have underperformed the industry over the past six months. The company has an impressive earnings surprise history, surpassing the Zacks Consensus Estimate in three of the trailing four quarters. Its first-quarter fiscal 2019 (ended Dec 31) results reflect higher revenues while elevated expenses were on the downside. While the company is well positioned to benefit from growth in loans, higher interest rates and impressive credit quality, mounting expense levels mainly due to higher compensation costs and information technology expenses are a major near-term concern and might hurt bottom-line growth. The company's exposure to risky loan portfolios might hamper financials, going forward.” 2/7/2019 – Washington Federal was upgraded by analysts at BidaskClub from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating. 2/4/2019 – Washington Federal was upgraded by analysts at Zacks Investment Research from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating. According to Zacks, “Shares of Washington Federal have outperformed the industry in the past three months. Also, the company has an impressive earnings surprise history, surpassing the Zacks Consensus Estimate in three of the trailing four quarters. Its first-quarter fiscal 2019 (ended Dec 31) results reflect higher revenues while elevated expenses were on the downside. The company's exposure to risky loan portfolios might hamper financials, going forward. Further, mounting expense levels mainly due to higher compensation costs and information technology expenses are a major near-term concern and might hurt bottom-line growth. However, the company is well positioned to benefit from growth in loans, higher interest rates and impressive credit quality. Also, the company's steady capital deployment actions reflect strong balance sheet position.” 1/31/2019 – Washington Federal was downgraded by analysts at BidaskClub from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating. 1/26/2019 – Washington Federal was upgraded by analysts at Zacks Investment Research from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating. According to Zacks, “Shares of Washington Federal have underperformed the industry in the past year. Yet, the company has an impressive earnings surprise history, surpassing the Zacks Consensus Estimate in three of the trailing four quarters. Its first-quarter fiscal 2019 (ended Dec 31) results reflect higher revenues while elevated expenses were on the downside. The company is well positioned to benefit from growth in loans, a rising rate scenario and improving credit quality. Also, the company's steady capital deployment actions reflect strong balance sheet position. However, the company's exposure to risky loan portfolios might hamper financials, going forward. Further, mounting expense levels mainly due to higher compensation costs and information technology expenses are a major near-term concern and might hurt bottom-line growth.” 1/24/2019 – Washington Federal was upgraded by analysts at TheStreet from a “c+” rating to a “b-” rating. 1/19/2019 – Washington Federal was downgraded by analysts at Zacks Investment Research from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating. According to Zacks, “Shares of Washington Federal have underperformed the industry in the past year. However, the company has an impressive earnings surprise history, surpassing the Zacks Consensus Estimate in three of the trailing four quarters. The company’s first-quarter fiscal 2019 (ended Dec 31) results reflect higher revenues, aided by growth in loan and deposit balances. However, elevated expenses were on the downside. The company is well positioned to benefit from growth in loans, a rising rate scenario and improving credit quality. Also, the company's steady capital deployment actions reflect strong balance sheet position. Nevertheless, mounting expense levels mainly due to higher compensation costs and information technology expenses are a major near-term concern and might hurt bottom-line growth. Further, the company's exposure to risky loan portfolios might hamper financials, going forward.” 1/19/2019 – Washington Federal was upgraded by analysts at BidaskClub from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating. 1/11/2019 – Washington Federal was downgraded by analysts at BidaskClub from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating. 1/5/2019 – Washington Federal was upgraded by analysts at BidaskClub from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating. 12/31/2018 – Washington Federal had its “hold” rating reaffirmed by analysts at Zacks Investment Research. According to Zacks, “Shares of Washington Federal have underperformed the industry over the past year. Yet, the company has an impressive earnings surprise history, surpassing the Zacks Consensus Estimate in three of the trailing four quarters. The company is well positioned to benefit from growth in loans, a rising rate scenario and improving credit quality. Moreover, its enhanced capital deployment activities reflect a strong balance sheet position. However, mounting expense levels mainly due to higher compensation costs and information technology expenses are a major near-term concern and might hurt bottom-line growth. Further, the company's exposure to risky loan portfolios might hamper financials, going forward.” 12/25/2018 – Washington Federal was upgraded by analysts at BidaskClub from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating. 12/19/2018 – Washington Federal was upgraded by analysts at Zacks Investment Research from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating. According to Zacks, “Shares of Washington Federal have underperformed the industry over the past year. Yet, the company has an impressive earnings surprise history, surpassing the Zacks Consensus Estimate in three of the trailing four quarters. The company is well positioned to benefit from growth in loans, a rising rate scenario and improving credit quality. Further, lower tax rates and easing of stringent regulations will support profitability. However, mounting expense levels mainly due to higher compensation costs and information technology expenses are a major near-term concern and might hurt bottom-line growth. Further, its exposure to risky loan portfolios might hamper financials, going forward.”
WAFD stock traded up $0.47 during trading on Friday, reaching $29.77. 5,485 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 400,645. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.28, a current ratio of 1.03 and a quick ratio of 1.03. Washington Federal Inc. has a twelve month low of $24.67 and a twelve month high of $36.53. The stock has a market cap of $2.41 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.40, a P/E/G ratio of 1.71 and a beta of 1.10.
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Washington Federal (NASDAQ:WAFD) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, January 14th. The bank reported $0.65 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the Thomson Reuters’ consensus estimate of $0.61 by $0.04. Washington Federal had a net margin of 30.16% and a return on equity of 10.31%. The firm had revenue of $138.16 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $133.33 million. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Washington Federal Inc. will post 2.49 EPS for the current fiscal year.
The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 22nd. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 8th will be given a $0.20 dividend. This is a boost from Washington Federal’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.18. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.69%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, February 7th. Washington Federal’s dividend payout ratio is 33.33%.
A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in WAFD. Toronto Dominion Bank acquired a new position in Washington Federal in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund increased its position in Washington Federal by 2,571.0% in the 4th quarter. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund now owns 932,873 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $35,000 after acquiring an additional 897,947 shares during the period. ETF Managers Group LLC increased its position in Washington Federal by 19.4% in the 4th quarter. ETF Managers Group LLC now owns 3,885 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $104,000 after acquiring an additional 630 shares during the period. Advisor Group Inc. increased its position in Washington Federal by 21.4% in the 4th quarter. Advisor Group Inc. now owns 5,598 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $150,000 after acquiring an additional 988 shares during the period. Finally, Honkamp Krueger Financial Services Inc. acquired a new position in Washington Federal in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $160,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 88.62% of the company’s stock.
Washington Federal, Inc operates as the bank holding company for Washington Federal, National Association that provides lending, depository, insurance, and other banking services in the United States. The company accepts deposit products, including business and personal checking accounts, and term certificates of deposit, as well as money market accounts and passbook savings accounts.
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