Heritage Financial (NASDAQ:HFWA) EVP Sells $129,070.20 in Stock

Heritage Financial Corporation (NASDAQ:HFWA) EVP Tony Chalfant sold 4,668 shares of Heritage Financial 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 $549,405.50. The trade was a 19.02% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website.

Heritage Financial Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:HFWA traded up $0.06 on Wednesday, hitting $27.80. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 241,105 shares, compared to its average volume of 270,572. The company has a market capitalization of $944.09 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.18 and a beta of 0.53. 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 Corporation has a 12 month low of $19.84 and a 12 month high of $28.44. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $25.24 and its two-hundred day moving average is $24.11.

Heritage Financial (NASDAQ:HFWA) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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 business had revenue of $66.35 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $65.95 million. Heritage Financial had a net margin of 20.10% and a return on equity of 8.61%. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Heritage Financial Corporation will post 2.09 EPS for the current year.

Heritage Financial Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, February 11th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, January 28th will be paid a dividend of $0.24 per share. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, January 28th. Heritage Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 48.98%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have recently weighed in on HFWA shares. Piper Sandler upped their price objective on Heritage Financial from $33.00 to $35.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, February 5th. DA Davidson boosted their price target on shares of Heritage Financial from $29.00 to $32.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 23rd. Zacks Research lowered shares of Heritage Financial from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 25th. Stephens lifted their price objective on shares of Heritage Financial from $28.00 to $30.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, January 26th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Heritage Financial in a research note on Thursday, January 22nd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $31.25.

Institutional Trading of Heritage Financial

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of HFWA. Wellington Management Group LLP purchased a new position in shares of Heritage Financial in the third quarter worth approximately $11,210,000. Algebris UK Ltd. acquired a new position in Heritage Financial in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $10,775,000. Jennison Associates LLC boosted its stake in Heritage Financial by 8.2% in the 2nd quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 2,977,315 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $70,979,000 after purchasing an additional 225,201 shares during the period. Victory Capital Management Inc. grew its position in Heritage Financial by 9.2% during the 3rd quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 2,626,334 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $63,531,000 after purchasing an additional 220,273 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Jane Street Group LLC raised its stake in Heritage Financial by 437.3% during 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 during the period. 78.30% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.