Why These Dividend Stocks Are Underperforming in 2025

6.WaFd, Inc. (NASDAQ:WAFD)

Dividend yield: 3.63%

Dividend payout ratio: 47.49%

Ex-Dividend Date: February 21, 2025

Number of Hedge Funds: 11

The local bank, WaFd, Inc. (NASDAQ:WAFD), saw a sharp decline in value by 7.66% year-to-date on February 15, 2025. The decline may have been primarily contributed by the fall in the net income from $257 million to $200 million in FY 2024. The decline was followed by the bank announcing its exit from the single-family mortgage lending business, which the CEO Brent Beardall believed would cause the credit risk to rise. Ultimately, DA Davidson downgraded the stock from ‘Buy’ to ‘Neutral’ after it missed its first-quarter earnings for fiscal year 2025.

WaFd, Inc. (NASDAQ:WAFD) has offered dividend payments for 43 consecutive years, signaling a strong commitment to its shareholders. Among them, the bank has raised its dividend for six straight years. Their dividend payout ratio stands at 47.49%, with an annual dividend of $1.04 per share and a yield of 3.50%.

Comparatively, it stands tall against the regional banks within the Russell index, which has an average dividend payout ratio of 25% over the past year and an average yield of 2.3%, suggesting that despite the underperformance of the stock, WaFd, Inc. (NASDAQ:WAFD) continues to focus on its dividend payouts.