Heritage Financial Corporation (NASDAQ:HFWA) Given Consensus Rating of “Moderate Buy” by Analysts

Shares of Heritage Financial Corporation (NASDAQ:HFWA) have received an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the six research firms that are covering the company, MarketBeat.com reports. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and three have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12 month price objective among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $31.00.

HFWA has been the topic of several research reports. Stephens raised their price target on Heritage Financial from $28.00 to $30.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, January 26th. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Heritage Financial from a “hold (c)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research report on Monday, March 2nd. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Heritage Financial from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Saturday, February 28th. DA Davidson boosted their price objective on shares of Heritage Financial from $29.00 to $32.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 23rd. Finally, Piper Sandler dropped their target price on Heritage Financial from $35.00 to $34.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Kelli Ann Wilson sold 1,900 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, January 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $26.48, for a total value of $50,312.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 3,778 shares in the company, valued at $100,041.44. This represents a 33.46% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Frederick B. Rivera sold 1,800 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $26.31, for a total value of $47,358.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 4,972 shares in the company, valued at approximately $130,813.32. The trade was a 26.58% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold 8,368 shares of company stock valued at $226,740 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 1.80% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Heritage Financial

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in HFWA. Hantz Financial Services Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Heritage Financial by 316.9% during the 3rd quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 1,651 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $40,000 after purchasing an additional 1,255 shares during the period. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Heritage Financial by 27,871.4% during the second quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,958 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $47,000 after acquiring an additional 1,951 shares during the last quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC raised its stake in shares of Heritage Financial by 99.1% in the 2nd quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 2,875 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $69,000 after acquiring an additional 1,431 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Heritage Financial by 20.8% in the 4th quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 5,171 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $122,000 after acquiring an additional 891 shares during the last quarter. Finally, CWM LLC increased its holdings in Heritage Financial by 100.5% in the 3rd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 7,657 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $185,000 after purchasing an additional 3,838 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 78.30% of the company’s stock.

Heritage Financial Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:HFWA opened at $26.10 on Friday. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $26.38 and its 200-day moving average price is $24.75. The company has a quick ratio of 0.83, a current ratio of 0.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.07 billion, a PE ratio of 13.32 and a beta of 0.49. Heritage Financial has a twelve month low of $19.84 and a twelve month high of $28.98.

Heritage Financial (NASDAQ:HFWA) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 22nd. The financial services provider reported $0.66 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.57 by $0.09. The business had revenue of $66.35 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $65.95 million. Heritage Financial had a net margin of 20.10% and a return on equity of 8.61%. Equities research analysts expect that Heritage Financial will post 2.09 EPS for the current year.

Heritage Financial Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, February 11th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, January 28th were issued a $0.24 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, January 28th. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.7%. Heritage Financial’s payout ratio is currently 48.98%.

About Heritage Financial

Heritage Financial Corporation (NASDAQ:HFWA) is a bank holding company headquartered in Spokane, Washington. Through its primary subsidiary, Heritage Bank, the company provides a comprehensive range of banking and financial services to both individual and commercial clients. Heritage Bank’s offerings encompass deposit products, lending solutions, treasury and cash management services, mortgage banking, and wealth management, positioning the organization as a full-service community bank.

The company’s lending portfolio includes commercial real estate loans, agricultural loans, small business administration (SBA) loans, construction and development financing, and a variety of consumer mortgage products.