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Why Washington Federal (WAFD) Stock is an Attractive Pick Now

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The financial sector has been in the spotlight of late and it is the right time to add some finance stocks to your portfolio. One such promising stock is Washington Federal, Inc. (WAFD - Free Report) . Based on its strong fundamentals, we believe it has plenty of upside potential. Also, the company is diligently involved in the capital deployment activities.

Though it has considerable exposure to risky loan portfolio, its share price rallied 47.8% over the last one year, significantly outperforming 13.9% gain for the Zacks categorized Banks - Northeast industry.  

Key Driving Forces  

Organic Growth: Washington Federal’s more than 60% of assets comprised net loans as of Dec, 2016. Also, with the gradually improving economy, the demand for loans is expected to increase further.  

Steady Capital Deployment: The company boosted shareholders’ confidence by consistently increasing dividends over the last few years. Also, it has a share repurchase program in place. These activities reflect its capital strength.

Improving Credit Quality: Washington Federal has witnessed an improving credit quality, reflected by a decline in the provisions for loan losses over the years.

Favorable Zacks Rank: While Washington Federal’s earnings estimates for the current year have remained stable in the past 30 days, it holds a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy).

Some other stocks in the finance space worth considering include County Bancorp, Inc. , The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. (GS - Free Report) and Houlihan Lokey, Inc (HLI - Free Report) .

County Bancorp has seen a positive earnings estimate revision of 5.8%, in the last 60 days. The company’s shares have gained 51.3%, 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.

Goldman Sachs currently carries Zacks Rank #2 and has witnessed an upward earnings estimate revision of 2.9% for the current year, in the past 60 days. Its share price has risen 62.5% over the last one-year period.

Houlihan Lokey carries a Zacks Rank #2. It has witnessed an upward earnings estimate revision of 2.3%, over the past 60 days. Over the last one-year period, its shares gained 26.6%.

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The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. (GS) - free report >>

WaFd, Inc. (WAFD) - free report >>

Houlihan Lokey, Inc. (HLI) - free report >>