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Why Washington Federal (WAFD) is a Fundamentally Sound Stock
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On Mar 8, we issued an updated research report on Washington Federal, Inc. (WAFD - Free Report) . The company has been benefiting from smooth organic growth and a strong capital position. However, escalating expenses remain a near-term threat.
Washington Federal’s strong fundamentals have contributed to the 49.7% increase in its share price over the last one year, outperforming the 42.1% gain for the Zacks categorized Major Banks – Northeast industry.
While the company’s earnings estimates for the current year have remained stable in the recent past, it carries a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy).
Washington Federal’s net loans, constituting more than half of its total assets, have been witnessing an upward trend. This trend is expected to persist in the quarters ahead with continued economic improvement. Also, increasing demand for loans and a favorable rate environment should help the company witness better margins in the near term.
Further, impressive capital deployment activities boost shareholders’ confidence. In Jan 2017, Washington Federal announced a hike in its quarterly common stock dividend along with a special dividend of 25 cents per share. Also, the company has a share repurchase program in place.
Moreover, the credit quality has consistently improved over the last few quarters along with reduction in credit losses. The provision for loan losses has also declined significantly in 2016.
However, mounting expenses are curbing the company’s bottom line growth to some extent. Also, its exposure to risky loan portfolio keeps us apprehensive.
Other Stocks to Consider
Some other finance stocks worth considering include Bank of Montreal (BMO - Free Report) , Yintech Investment Holdings Limited and Bank of America Corporation (BAC - Free Report) .
Bank of Montreal has witnessed an upward earnings estimate revision of 4.6% for the current year, over the past 30 days. Its share price increased 31.4%, over the last one year. It currently sports a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.
Yintech also sports a Zacks Rank #1. For the current year, its Zacks Consensus Estimate has seen a solid revision of 23.2% over the past 60 days. Its share price has increased 7.4% in the last one year.
Bank of America carries a Zacks Rank #2. It witnessed an upward earnings estimate revision of 5.5% for the current year, over the past 60 days. Its share price is up 90.4%, over the last one year.
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Why Washington Federal (WAFD) is a Fundamentally Sound Stock
On Mar 8, we issued an updated research report on Washington Federal, Inc. (WAFD - Free Report) . The company has been benefiting from smooth organic growth and a strong capital position. However, escalating expenses remain a near-term threat.
Washington Federal’s strong fundamentals have contributed to the 49.7% increase in its share price over the last one year, outperforming the 42.1% gain for the Zacks categorized Major Banks – Northeast industry.
While the company’s earnings estimates for the current year have remained stable in the recent past, it carries a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy).
Washington Federal’s net loans, constituting more than half of its total assets, have been witnessing an upward trend. This trend is expected to persist in the quarters ahead with continued economic improvement. Also, increasing demand for loans and a favorable rate environment should help the company witness better margins in the near term.
Further, impressive capital deployment activities boost shareholders’ confidence. In Jan 2017, Washington Federal announced a hike in its quarterly common stock dividend along with a special dividend of 25 cents per share. Also, the company has a share repurchase program in place.
Moreover, the credit quality has consistently improved over the last few quarters along with reduction in credit losses. The provision for loan losses has also declined significantly in 2016.
However, mounting expenses are curbing the company’s bottom line growth to some extent. Also, its exposure to risky loan portfolio keeps us apprehensive.
Other Stocks to Consider
Some other finance stocks worth considering include Bank of Montreal (BMO - Free Report) , Yintech Investment Holdings Limited and Bank of America Corporation (BAC - Free Report) .
Bank of Montreal has witnessed an upward earnings estimate revision of 4.6% for the current year, over the past 30 days. Its share price increased 31.4%, over the last one year. It currently sports a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.
Yintech also sports a Zacks Rank #1. For the current year, its Zacks Consensus Estimate has seen a solid revision of 23.2% over the past 60 days. Its share price has increased 7.4% in the last one year.
Bank of America carries a Zacks Rank #2. It witnessed an upward earnings estimate revision of 5.5% for the current year, over the past 60 days. Its share price is up 90.4%, over the last one year.
8 Stocks with Huge Profit Potential
Just released: Driverless Cars: Your Roadmap to Mega-Profits Today. In this latest Special Report, Zacks’ Aggressive Growth Strategist Brian Bolan explores a full-blown technological breakthrough in the making – autonomous cars. He also spotlights 8 stocks with tremendous gain potential to feed off this phenomenon. Click to see the stocks right now >>