Zacks Research Downgrades Heritage Financial (NASDAQ:HFWA) to Strong Sell

Heritage Financial (NASDAQ:HFWA) was downgraded by stock analysts at Zacks Research from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Thursday,Zacks.com reports.

Several other research analysts have also recently issued reports on the company. Wall Street Zen cut Heritage Financial from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Saturday. Piper Sandler cut their price objective on Heritage Financial from $34.00 to $32.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday. Weiss Ratings upgraded Heritage Financial from a “hold (c)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research report on Monday, March 2nd. DA Davidson increased their price objective on Heritage Financial from $29.00 to $32.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 23rd. Finally, Stephens increased their price objective on Heritage Financial from $28.00 to $30.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, January 26th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $30.50.

Heritage Financial Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ HFWA traded up $0.09 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $27.61. 151,013 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 255,640. The company has a quick ratio of 0.83, a current ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $26.38 and a 200-day simple moving average of $25.16. Heritage Financial has a 1-year low of $21.32 and a 1-year high of $28.98. The firm has a market cap of $1.14 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.53 and a beta of 0.50.

Heritage Financial (NASDAQ:HFWA) last issued its quarterly 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 return on equity of 8.71% and a net margin of 20.50%.The firm had revenue of $77.92 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $80.31 million. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Heritage Financial will post 2.39 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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

Institutional Trading of Heritage Financial

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in HFWA. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. boosted its stake in shares of Heritage Financial by 4.6% during the first quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 20,060 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $488,000 after acquiring an additional 881 shares during the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC boosted its stake in Heritage Financial by 4.2% in the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 123,798 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $3,012,000 after buying an additional 4,947 shares during the last quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC lifted its stake in shares of Heritage Financial by 7.4% in the 1st quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 78,130 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,901,000 after purchasing an additional 5,417 shares in the last quarter. Jane Street Group LLC lifted its stake in shares of Heritage Financial by 437.3% in the 1st quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 107,482 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,615,000 after purchasing an additional 87,479 shares in the last quarter. Finally, EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Heritage Financial by 27,871.4% in the 2nd quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,958 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $47,000 after purchasing an additional 1,951 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 78.30% of the company’s stock.

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.