Heritage Financial Corporation (NASDAQ:HFWA) Given Consensus Recommendation of “Hold” by Brokerages

Heritage Financial Corporation (NASDAQ:HFWA) has received a consensus rating of “Hold” from the six ratings firms that are currently covering the stock, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and two have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average twelve-month target price among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $31.25.

HFWA has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. DA Davidson upped their price objective on Heritage Financial from $29.00 to $32.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 23rd. Stephens upped 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. Zacks Research cut Heritage Financial from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 25th. Piper Sandler reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $35.00 price objective on shares of Heritage Financial in a research report on Thursday. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised shares of Heritage Financial from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, November 15th.

Heritage Financial Stock Up 2.2%

Heritage Financial stock opened at $27.11 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05, a current ratio of 0.83 and a quick ratio of 0.84. The stock has a market capitalization of $920.66 million, a PE ratio of 13.83 and a beta of 0.53. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $24.93 and a 200-day simple moving average of $24.01. Heritage Financial has a 12 month low of $19.84 and a 12 month high of $28.35.

Heritage Financial (NASDAQ:HFWA) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 22nd. The financial services provider reported $0.66 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.57 by $0.09. The firm had revenue of $66.35 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $65.95 million. Heritage Financial had a net margin of 20.10% and a return on equity of 8.61%. On average, analysts anticipate that Heritage Financial will post 2.09 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Heritage Financial Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, February 11th. Investors of record on Wednesday, January 28th 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 is Wednesday, January 28th. Heritage Financial’s payout ratio is currently 48.98%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Heritage Financial

In related news, Director Frederick B. Rivera sold 1,800 shares of the business’s 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 completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 4,972 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $130,813.32. The trade was a 26.58% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Kelli Ann Wilson sold 1,900 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 26th. The stock was 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 approximately $100,041.44. This trade represents a 33.46% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. 1.80% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Heritage Financial

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Hantz Financial Services Inc. increased its holdings in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 1,255 shares during the period. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC grew its position in Heritage Financial by 27,871.4% during the 2nd quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,958 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $47,000 after purchasing an additional 1,951 shares during the last quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC increased its stake in Heritage Financial by 99.1% in 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 purchasing an additional 1,431 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its holdings in shares of Heritage Financial by 20.8% in 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 last quarter. Finally, CWM LLC boosted 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 worth $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.

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.