Heritage Financial (NASDAQ:HFWA) Hits New 1-Year High – Should You Buy?

Heritage Financial Corporation (NASDAQ:HFWA)’s share price reached a new 52-week high during trading on Thursday . The stock traded as high as $29.50 and last traded at $29.2340, with a volume of 9175 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $28.98.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts recently commented on HFWA shares. Zacks Research lowered Heritage Financial from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. Piper Sandler dropped their price objective on Heritage Financial from $34.00 to $32.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 27th. Wall Street Zen raised Heritage Financial from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, May 16th. Finally, Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Heritage Financial from a “hold (c)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research note on Monday, March 2nd. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Heritage Financial currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $30.50.

Heritage Financial Stock Up 1.1%

The business’s 50 day moving average price is $27.46 and its 200-day moving average price is $26.39. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04, a current ratio of 0.81 and a quick ratio of 0.81. The company has a market cap of $1.21 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.39 and a beta of 0.49.

Heritage Financial (NASDAQ:HFWA) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 23rd. The financial services provider reported $0.59 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.57 by $0.02. Heritage Financial had a return on equity of 8.71% and a net margin of 20.50%.The business had revenue of $77.92 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $80.31 million. On average, analysts anticipate that Heritage Financial Corporation will post 2.39 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Heritage Financial Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, May 20th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, May 6th were paid a $0.24 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, May 6th. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.3%. Heritage Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 47.06%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Heritage Financial

In related news, CFO Donald Hinson sold 3,842 shares of Heritage Financial stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $28.37, for a total value of $108,997.54. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 41,241 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,170,007.17. The trade was a 8.52% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Company insiders own 1.49% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Heritage Financial

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund lifted its position in shares of Heritage Financial by 2.9% during the first quarter. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund now owns 18,381 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $478,000 after purchasing an additional 514 shares in the last quarter. CWM LLC increased its holdings in shares of Heritage Financial by 7.7% in the fourth quarter. CWM LLC now owns 8,249 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $195,000 after purchasing an additional 592 shares in the last quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. raised its position in Heritage Financial by 4.6% in the 1st quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 20,060 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $488,000 after purchasing an additional 881 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its position in Heritage Financial by 20.8% in the 4th quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 5,171 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $122,000 after purchasing an additional 891 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Intech Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in Heritage Financial by 2.7% during the 3rd quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 35,891 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $868,000 after buying an additional 960 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.