Zacks Research Comments on WaFd, Inc’s Q1 2026 Earnings (NASDAQ:WAFD)

WaFd, Inc (NASDAQ:WAFD) – Analysts at Zacks Research lowered their Q1 2026 earnings estimates for WaFd in a research note issued on Monday, April 8th. Zacks Research analyst S. Shah now forecasts that the bank will post earnings of $0.89 per share for the quarter, down from their previous forecast of $0.92. The consensus estimate for WaFd’s current full-year earnings is $2.58 per share. Zacks Research also issued estimates for WaFd’s Q2 2026 earnings at $0.92 EPS and FY2026 earnings at $3.65 EPS.

WaFd (NASDAQ:WAFD) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, January 16th. The bank reported $0.85 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.77 by $0.08. The firm had revenue of $166.40 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $180.45 million. WaFd had a net margin of 20.58% and a return on equity of 11.19%. The business’s revenue was down 14.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.16 earnings per share.

Other research analysts also recently issued reports about the stock. StockNews.com downgraded shares of WaFd from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 21st. Stephens restated an “equal weight” rating and set a $35.00 target price on shares of WaFd in a report on Wednesday, January 17th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their target price on shares of WaFd from $37.00 to $35.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 18th. Finally, DA Davidson reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $35.00 price target on shares of WaFd in a research note on Thursday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $33.50.

WaFd Stock Down 1.1 %

Shares of NASDAQ WAFD opened at $26.85 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.15, a current ratio of 1.15 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.80. WaFd has a 52 week low of $23.36 and a 52 week high of $34.07. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $27.84 and its 200 day moving average is $28.19. The company has a market cap of $1.74 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.87 and a beta of 0.85.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On WaFd

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its holdings in WaFd by 1.2% in the 1st quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 906,332 shares of the bank’s stock worth $29,745,000 after acquiring an additional 11,031 shares in the last quarter. Citigroup Inc. boosted its stake in WaFd by 60.1% in the 1st quarter. Citigroup Inc. now owns 43,493 shares of the bank’s stock worth $1,428,000 after purchasing an additional 16,323 shares during the period. Bank of Montreal Can boosted its stake in WaFd by 120.1% in the 1st quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 13,329 shares of the bank’s stock worth $455,000 after purchasing an additional 7,274 shares during the period. MetLife Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in WaFd by 39.7% in the 1st quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC now owns 75,272 shares of the bank’s stock worth $2,470,000 after purchasing an additional 21,388 shares during the period. Finally, Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS boosted its stake in WaFd by 10.7% in the 1st quarter. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS now owns 23,904 shares of the bank’s stock worth $785,000 after purchasing an additional 2,305 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.71% of the company’s stock.

WaFd Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 8th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 23rd were given 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.87%. WaFd’s payout ratio is 30.50%.

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.