** Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raises PT on regional lender WaFd WAFD.O to $34 from $31

** New PT is a 4.9% upside to stock's last close

** Cites slight improvement in long-term earnings outlook despite a mixed quarter

** Says WAFD kept medium-term profitability expectations steady or slightly better, even though near-term net interest margin and loan growth weakened

** Following a busy start to FY26 on buybacks, we now model 4.5 million of the remaining 6 million authorized shares being repurchased - Brokerage

** Four brokerages rate stock "hold"; median PT is $34 - data compiled by LSEG

** Including session's moves, WAFD up 4.7% in the last 12 months

(Reporting by Pragyan Kalita in Bengaluru)

((Pragyan.Kalita@thomsonreuters.com))