Analysts Set Heritage Financial Corporation (NASDAQ:HFWA) Target Price at $31.00

Shares of Heritage Financial Corporation (NASDAQ:HFWA) have earned a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the six brokerages that are presently covering the stock, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 12-month price objective among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $30.50.

Several brokerages have weighed in on HFWA. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Heritage Financial from a “hold (c)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research report on Monday, March 2nd. Stephens upped their target price on shares of Heritage Financial from $28.00 to $30.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, January 26th. DA Davidson upped their price target on shares of Heritage Financial from $29.00 to $32.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 23rd. Piper Sandler reduced their price target on shares of Heritage Financial from $34.00 to $32.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised shares of Heritage Financial from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, April 4th.

Heritage Financial Trading Up 3.3%

Shares of HFWA opened at $27.34 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 0.81, a quick ratio of 0.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $26.42 and its two-hundred day moving average is $25.09. Heritage Financial has a twelve month low of $21.32 and a twelve month high of $28.98. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.12 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.40 and a beta of 0.49.

Heritage Financial (NASDAQ:HFWA) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, April 23rd. The financial services provider reported $0.59 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.57 by $0.02. Heritage Financial had a net margin of 20.50% and a return on equity of 8.71%. The company had revenue of $77.92 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $80.31 million. On average, research analysts predict that Heritage Financial will post 2.5 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Heritage Financial Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 20th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, May 6th will be issued a $0.24 dividend. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, May 6th. Heritage Financial’s dividend payout ratio is 47.06%.

Insider Activity

In other Heritage Financial news, Director Frederick B. Rivera sold 1,800 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $26.31, for a total value of $47,358.00. Following the sale, the director owned 4,972 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $130,813.32. This represents a 26.58% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Tony Chalfant sold 4,668 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $27.65, for a total transaction of $129,070.20. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 19,870 shares in the company, valued at $549,405.50. This trade represents a 19.02% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. 1.49% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Heritage Financial

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Hantz Financial Services Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Heritage Financial by 316.9% during the third quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 1,651 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $40,000 after buying an additional 1,255 shares during the period. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its stake 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 buying an additional 1,951 shares during the period. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC lifted its stake in shares of Heritage Financial by 99.1% during the second quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 2,875 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $69,000 after buying an additional 1,431 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its stake in shares of Heritage Financial by 20.8% during the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 5,171 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $122,000 after buying an additional 891 shares during the period. Finally, CWM LLC lifted its stake in shares of Heritage Financial by 100.5% during the third quarter. CWM LLC now owns 7,657 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $185,000 after buying an additional 3,838 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 78.30% of the company’s stock.

Heritage Financial Company Profile

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.