Heritage Financial Corporation (NASDAQ:HFWA) Declares Quarterly Dividend of $0.24

Heritage Financial Corporation (NASDAQ:HFWA) declared a quarterly dividend on Friday, January 16th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, January 28th will be paid a dividend of 0.24 per share by the financial services provider on Wednesday, February 11th. This represents a c) dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.6%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, January 28th.

Heritage Financial has raised its dividend by an average of 0.0%annually over the last three years and has increased its dividend annually for the last 14 consecutive years. Heritage Financial has a dividend payout ratio of 42.5% indicating that its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Equities research analysts expect Heritage Financial to earn $2.28 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $0.96 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 42.1%.

Heritage Financial Stock Down 5.5%

Heritage Financial stock opened at $26.58 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05, a quick ratio of 0.84 and a current ratio of 0.83. Heritage Financial has a fifty-two week low of $19.84 and a fifty-two week high of $28.35. The firm has a market capitalization of $902.66 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.56 and a beta of 0.52. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $24.42 and its two-hundred day moving average is $23.95.

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 company had revenue of $66.35 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $65.95 million. Heritage Financial had a return on equity of 8.61% and a net margin of 20.10%. Analysts predict that Heritage Financial will post 2.09 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on HFWA shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price target on shares of Heritage Financial from $26.00 to $28.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Monday, September 29th. Zacks Research lowered Heritage Financial from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 25th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Heritage Financial in a research report on Thursday. Wall Street Zen upgraded Heritage Financial from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, November 15th. Finally, DA Davidson increased their price objective on shares of Heritage Financial from $29.00 to $32.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Heritage Financial currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $30.33.

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.