Washington Federal, Inc. (NASDAQ:WAFD) Strengthens Capital Base And Near-Term Momentum

Washington Federal shows renewed momentum driven by capital flexibility and steady cash generation while valuation sits in a fair-valued range. Recent corporate actions and elevated technical strength frame a cautiously constructive near-term outlook.

Recent News

On April 16, 2026 the company posted investor materials and made its annual meeting playback accessible to shareholders; the investor release also summarized community development lending and charitable grant activity.

On May 12, 2026 the company declared a quarterly cash dividend of $0.27 per share, payable in early June.

Coverage following the April investor release highlighted a Federal Reserve proposed capital rule change that market commentary estimates could add roughly $400 million to regulatory capital if adopted.

Technical Analysis

ADX stands at 40.33, indicating very strong trend strength; that strength amplifies the immediate price momentum relative to the stock’s fair-valued appraisal.

Directional indicators show DI+ at 31.02 with a dip-and-reversal, signaling a bullish directional shift; DI- at 12.86 shows a peak-and-reversal, indicating falling selling pressure. Together these directional moves support the near-term price bias implied by the ADX reading.

MACD reads 0.68 with the MACD above its signal line (signal 0.56) and a dip-and-reversal trend, a bullish momentum configuration; the MACD crossing above the signal line confirms positive short-term momentum.

MRO stands at 28.84 and sits positive, which indicates the market price sits above the modeled target and introduces a headwind for further upside; the MRO’s dip-and-reversal trend suggests that the indicator recently moved toward reducing that overextension.

RSI sits at 61.06 with a dip-and-reversal trend, consistent with above-average bullish posture without clear overbought extremes. Price sits above the 12‑day EMA (12‑day EMA $37.04) and above the 20/50/200-day averages ($36.86, $35.53, $32.14 respectively), with the 12‑day EMA rising; Bollinger upper 1× std dev at $37.63 places the close ($37.95) just above that band while remaining below the 2× upper band, and traded volume exceeds recent averages—these elements together favor continuation but raise the risk of a short-term pullback from an extended level.

 


Fundamental Analysis

Reported EPS came in at $0.82 versus an estimate of $0.75, an EPS surprise of +9.33% for the quarter ended March 31, 2026 (report date April 16, 2026). Net income for the period measured $65,548,000 and total revenue registered $197,663,000.

Top‑line momentum shows a QoQ revenue change of +152.98% and a YoY revenue change of −55.52%; earnings growth registers QoQ +123.97% but YoY −54.18%. These contrasting quarter-to-quarter and year-over-year moves reflect sizable period-to-period base effects and require watching for normalization in coming quarters.

Profitability metrics show return on equity at 2.445% and return on assets at 0.239%. Return on equity sits slightly above the industry peer mean of 1.847% and just above the industry peer median of 2.427%, while return on assets remains marginally below the industry peer mean of 0.271%. These outcomes align with modest but positive shareholder returns relative to regional thrift peers.

Leverage shows debt-to-assets at 11.297%—above the industry peer mean of 9.694%—and debt-to-equity at 116.16% versus an industry peer mean of 82.789%, indicating higher leverage than the peer average. Tangible book value per share stands at $36.30 (book value $36.30 per share) and asset-to-equity is 10.282x.

Valuation metrics sit mixed: P/E at 38.96 marginally exceeds the industry peer mean of 38.81; price-to-book at 0.88 sits below the industry peer mean of 1.10 and well inside the industry peer range (low 0.49, high 2.09); PEG ratio at 4.17 falls below the industry peer mean of 5.84. Free cash flow yield registers 2.88%, slightly below the industry peer mean of 3.16%. Dividend yield runs about 1.01% with a dividend payout ratio near 36.33% and dividend coverage of 2.75x. WMDST values the stock as fair-valued.

MOST-RECENT QUARTERLY REPORT
REPORT PERIOD ENDING: 2026-03-31
REPORT DATE: 2026-04-16
NEXT REPORT DATE: 2026-07-16
CASH FLOW  Begin Period Cash Flow 734.9 M
 Operating Cash Flow 79.4 M
 Capital Expenditures -11.41 M
 Change In Working Capital -2.15 M
 Dividends Paid -23.81 M
 Cash Flow Delta -65.12 M
 End Period Cash Flow 669.8 M
 
INCOME STATEMENT REVENUE
 Total Revenue 197.7 M
 Forward Revenue 47.4 M
COSTS
 Cost Of Revenue
 Depreciation 8.6 M
 Depreciation and Amortization 8.6 M
 Research and Development
 Total Operating Expenses
PROFITABILITY
 Gross Profit
 EBITDA
 EBIT
 Operating Income
 Interest Income 324.7 M
 Interest Expense 147.2 M
 Net Interest Income 177.6 M
 Income Before Tax 83.8 M
 Tax Provision 18.3 M
 Tax Rate 21.79 %
 Net Income 65.5 M
 Net Income From Continuing Operations 65.5 M
EARNINGS
 EPS Estimate 0.75
 EPS Actual 0.82
 EPS Difference 0.07
 EPS Surprise 9.333 %
 Forward EPS 0.85
 
BALANCE SHEET ASSETS
 Total Assets 27.6 B
 Intangible Assets 445.5 M
 Net Tangible Assets 2.5 B
 Total Current Assets
 Cash and Short-Term Investments
 Cash 669.8 M
 Net Receivables 98.9 M
 Inventory
 Long-Term Investments
LIABILITIES
 Accounts Payable
 Short-Term Debt
 Total Current Liabilities
 Net Debt 2.4 B
 Total Debt 3.1 B
 Total Liabilities 24.6 B
EQUITY
 Total Equity 2.7 B
 Retained Earnings 2.2 B
VALUATION & PER-SHARE METRICS EQUITY & PER-SHARE METRICS
 Book Value Per-Share 36.30
 Shares Outstanding 73.856 M
 Revenue Per-Share 2.68
VALUATION
 Market Capitalization 2.4 B
 Enterprise Value 5.5 B
 Enterprise Multiple
Enterprise Multiple QoQ
Enterprise Multiple YoY
Enterprise Multiple IPRWA
 EV/R 27.695
CAPITAL STRUCTURE
 Asset To Equity 10.282
 Asset To Liability 1.121
 Debt To Capital 0.537
 Debt To Assets 0.113
Debt To Assets QoQ 23.871 %
Debt To Assets YoY 10.94 %
Debt To Assets IPRWA high: 0.311
WAFD: 0.113
median: 0.099
mean: 0.097
low: 0.008
 Debt To Equity 1.162
Debt To Equity QoQ 27.409 %
Debt To Equity YoY 12.763 %
Debt To Equity IPRWA high: 2.929
WAFD: 1.162
mean: 0.828
median: 0.344
low: 0.07
PRICE-BASED VALUATION
 Price To Book (P/B) 0.88
Price To Book QoQ -1.36 %
Price To Book YoY 2.674 %
Price To Book IPRWA high: 2.091
mean: 1.099
median: 0.998
WAFD: 0.88
low: 0.488
 Price To Earnings (P/E) 38.964
Price To Earnings QoQ -8.26 %
Price To Earnings YoY -12.677 %
Price To Earnings IPRWA high: 82.962
WAFD: 38.964
mean: 38.81
median: 36.548
low: 25.695
 PE/G Ratio 4.175
 Price To Sales (P/S) 11.938
Price To Sales QoQ -6.109 %
Price To Sales YoY -8.465 %
Price To Sales IPRWA high: 27.157
WAFD: 11.938
mean: 11.317
median: 10.782
low: 2.493
FORWARD MULTIPLES
Forward P/E 37.621
Forward PE/G 4.031
Forward P/S 49.388
EFFICIENCY OPERATIONAL
 Operating Leverage
ASSET & SALES
 Asset Turnover Ratio 0.007
Asset Turnover Ratio QoQ 1.549 %
Asset Turnover Ratio YoY 11.094 %
Asset Turnover Ratio IPRWA high: 0.017
mean: 0.01
median: 0.01
WAFD: 0.007
low: 0.001
 Receivables Turnover 2.012
Receivables Turnover Ratio QoQ 3.066 %
Receivables Turnover Ratio YoY 14.778 %
Receivables Turnover Ratio IPRWA high: 3.934
median: 2.178
mean: 2.106
WAFD: 2.012
low: 0.48
 Inventory Turnover
Inventory Turnover Ratio QoQ
Inventory Turnover Ratio YoY
Inventory Turnover Ratio IPRWA
 Days Sales Outstanding (DSO) 45.358
CASH CYCLE
 Cash Conversion Cycle Days (CCC)
Cash Conversion Cycle Days QoQ
Cash Conversion Cycle Days YoY
Cash Conversion Cycle Days IPRWA
CAPITAL DEPLOYMENT
 Cash Conversion Ratio
 CapEx To Revenue -0.058
 CapEx To Depreciation -1.329
 
CAPITAL, LIQUIDITY & COVERAGE CAPITAL STRUCTURE
 Total Capital 6.1 B
 Net Invested Capital 5.8 B
 Invested Capital 5.8 B
 Net Tangible Assets 2.5 B
 Net Working Capital
LIQUIDITY
 Cash Ratio
 Current Ratio
Current Ratio QoQ
Current Ratio YoY
Current Ratio IPRWA
 Quick Ratio
Quick Ratio QoQ
Quick Ratio YoY
Quick Ratio IPRWA
COVERAGE & LEVERAGE
 Debt To EBITDA
 Cost Of Debt 5.485 %
 Interest Coverage Ratio
Interest Coverage Ratio QoQ
Interest Coverage Ratio YoY
Interest Coverage Ratio IPRWA
 Operating Cash Flow Ratio
TIMING / LIQUIDITY
 Days Payables Outstanding (DPO)
DIVIDENDS
 Dividend Coverage Ratio 2.752
 Dividend Payout Ratio 0.363
 Dividend Rate 0.32
 Dividend Yield 0.01
PERFORMANCE GROWTH
 Asset Growth Rate 1.037 %
 Revenue Growth 2.082 %
Revenue Growth QoQ 152.977 %
Revenue Growth YoY -55.522 %
Revenue Growth IPRWA high: 17.724 %
WAFD: 2.082 %
mean: 0.956 %
median: -0.025 %
low: -18.037 %
 Earnings Growth 9.333 %
Earnings Growth QoQ 123.974 %
Earnings Growth YoY -54.183 %
Earnings Growth IPRWA high: 16.667 %
WAFD: 9.333 %
median: 1.835 %
mean: 1.43 %
low: -54.688 %
MARGINS
 Gross Margin
Gross Margin QoQ
Gross Margin YoY
Gross Margin IPRWA
 EBIT Margin
EBIT Margin QoQ
EBIT Margin YoY
EBIT Margin IPRWA
 Return On Sales (ROS)
Return On Sales QoQ
Return On Sales YoY
Return On Sales IPRWA
CASH FLOW
 Free Cash Flow (FCF) 68.0 M
 Free Cash Flow Yield 2.88 %
Free Cash Flow Yield QoQ 40.146 %
Free Cash Flow Yield YoY 1.301 %
Free Cash Flow Yield IPRWA high: 11.345 %
median: 3.439 %
mean: 3.161 %
WAFD: 2.88 %
low: -3.242 %
 Free Cash Growth 35.83 %
Free Cash Growth QoQ 268.432 %
Free Cash Growth YoY -34.732 %
Free Cash Growth IPRWA high: 223.01 %
WAFD: 35.83 %
median: -56.573 %
mean: -83.277 %
low: -365.339 %
 Free Cash To Net Income 1.037
 Cash Flow Margin 36.894 %
 Cash Flow To Earnings 1.113
VALUE & RETURNS
 Economic Value Added 0.04
 Return On Assets (ROA) 0.239 %
Return On Assets QoQ 0.42 %
Return On Assets YoY 17.734 %
Return On Assets IPRWA high: 0.624 %
mean: 0.271 %
median: 0.264 %
WAFD: 0.239 %
low: -0.155 %
 Return On Capital Employed (ROCE)
 Return On Equity (ROE) 0.024
Return On Equity QoQ 3.954 %
Return On Equity YoY 18.747 %
Return On Equity IPRWA high: 0.045
WAFD: 0.024
median: 0.024
mean: 0.018
low: -0.037
 DuPont ROE 2.424 %
 Return On Invested Capital (ROIC)
Return On Invested Capital QoQ
Return On Invested Capital YoY
Return On Invested Capital IPRWA

Six-Week Outlook

Near-term price bias leans mildly bullish: strong ADX and bullish directional indicators, a MACD above its signal line, rising short-term EMAs, and above-average volume support continuation of recent gains. Offsetting that constructive setup, a positive MRO and a close above the Bollinger 1× upper band raise the probability of a consolidation or mean-reversion leg before a sustained advance. Monitor the company’s next scheduled report on July 16, 2026 as the primary mid-horizon catalyst and watch whether momentum indicators maintain current configuration or roll over into weakening readings.

About Washington Federal, Inc.

Washington Federal, Inc. (NASDAQ:WAFD) functions as the bank holding company for Washington Federal Bank, delivering a wide range of financial services across the United States. The company develops deposit products, including business and personal checking accounts, money market accounts, and certificates of deposit. It also provides a variety of loan products, such as those for single-family homes, construction projects, land acquisition and development, multi-family residential properties, and commercial real estate. Additionally, Washington Federal offers home equity, business, and consumer loans, along with commercial and industrial lending solutions. Beyond traditional banking, the company extends insurance brokerage services, offering both individual and business policies. It manages and markets real estate properties and provides debit and credit card services. Washington Federal serves a diverse clientele, including consumers, mid-sized and large businesses, as well as commercial real estate developers and owners. Established in 1917, the company maintains its headquarters in Seattle, Washington, and continues to build on its long-standing history in the financial sector.



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