Investors never know what to expect for Washington Federal (Nasdaq: WFSL), as it has wavered between topping and missing analysts estimates during the past fiscal year. The company will unveil its latest earnings on Thursday, Oct. 20. Washington Federal is a non-diversified unitary savings and loan holding company, within the meaning of the Home Owner's Loan Act, that conducts its operations through a federally insured savings and loan association subsidiary.

What analysts say:

  • Buy, sell, or hold?: Half of analysts think investors should stand pat on Washington Federal while the remaining half rate the stock as a buy.
  • Revenue Forecasts: On average, analysts predict $106.6 million in revenue this quarter. That would represent a rise of 6.2% from the year-ago quarter.
  • Wall Street Earnings Expectations: The average analyst estimate is earnings of $0.29 per share. Estimates range from $0.25 to $0.35.

What our community says:
CAPS All-Stars are solidly backing the stock with 78.3% awarding it an "outperform" rating. The majority of Fools are in agreement with the All-Stars, and 70.1% give it an "outperform" rating. Fools are keen on Washington Federal, though the message boards have been quiet lately with only 23 posts in the past 30 days. Despite the majority sentiment in favor of Washington Federal, the stock has a middling CAPS rating of three out of five stars.

Management:
Washington Federal's profit has risen year over year by an average of 86.4% over the past five quarters. Revenue has fallen for the past three quarters.

Now let's look at how efficient management is at running the business. Traditionally, margins represent the efficiency with which companies capture portions of sales dollars. The following table shows net margins over the past four quarters. 

Quarter Q3 Q2 Q1 Q4
Net Margin 18.2% 15.1% 14.4% 18.8%
One final thing: If you want to keep tabs on Washington Federal movements, and for more analysis on the company, make sure you add it to your Watchlist.