Heritage Financial (NASDAQ:HFWA) Director Frederick Rivera Sells 1,800 Shares of Stock

Heritage Financial Corporation (NASDAQ:HFWA) Director Frederick Rivera sold 1,800 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 3rd. The stock was 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 in the company, valued at $130,813.32. The trade was a 26.58% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink.

Heritage Financial Stock Performance

Shares of Heritage Financial stock opened at $26.52 on Wednesday. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $24.87 and a 200 day moving average price of $23.99. The firm has a market capitalization of $900.62 million, a P/E ratio of 13.53 and a beta of 0.53. The company has a quick ratio of 0.84, a current ratio of 0.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05. Heritage Financial Corporation has a 52 week low of $19.84 and a 52 week high of $28.35.

Heritage Financial (NASDAQ:HFWA) last released its 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 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%. Sell-side analysts expect that Heritage Financial Corporation will post 2.09 EPS for the current year.

Heritage Financial Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, February 11th. Investors of record on Wednesday, January 28th will be given a $0.24 dividend. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, January 28th. Heritage Financial’s dividend payout ratio is presently 48.98%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have commented on HFWA. DA Davidson boosted their price target on Heritage Financial from $29.00 to $32.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 23rd. Zacks Research downgraded Heritage Financial from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 25th. Stephens upped their target price on Heritage Financial from $28.00 to $30.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, January 26th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Heritage Financial in a report on Thursday, January 22nd. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Heritage Financial from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, November 15th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $30.25.

Hedge Funds 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. lifted its stake in Heritage Financial by 316.9% in the 3rd 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 in the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Heritage Financial by 27,871.4% in the second 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 during the period. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC grew 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 buying an additional 1,431 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its position in Heritage Financial by 20.8% in the fourth 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 period. Finally, CWM LLC raised its stake in Heritage Financial by 100.5% in 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 in the last quarter. 78.30% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.