Heritage Financial Corporation (NASDAQ:HFWA) Given Consensus Rating of “Moderate Buy” by Brokerages

Shares of Heritage Financial Corporation (NASDAQ:HFWA) have been assigned an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the six analysts that are presently covering the company, Marketbeat reports. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and three have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1-year target price among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $30.50.

Several analysts recently issued reports on HFWA shares. Piper Sandler cut their target price on shares of Heritage Financial from $34.00 to $32.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 27th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Heritage Financial from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, May 16th. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Heritage Financial from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, June 26th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Heritage Financial in a research report on Tuesday.

Insider Transactions at Heritage Financial

In other Heritage Financial news, CFO Donald Hinson sold 3,842 shares of the company’s 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 sale, the chief financial officer owned 41,241 shares in the company, valued at $1,170,007.17. This represents a 8.52% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 1.49% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Heritage Financial

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Deprince Race & Zollo Inc. lifted its holdings in Heritage Financial by 71.4% in the fourth quarter. Deprince Race & Zollo Inc. now owns 120,867 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,859,000 after buying an additional 50,353 shares during the period. Basswood Capital Management L.L.C. raised its position in shares of Heritage Financial by 163.1% during the 4th quarter. Basswood Capital Management L.L.C. now owns 607,105 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $14,358,000 after acquiring an additional 376,368 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Heritage Financial by 1.9% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 2,412,325 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $57,051,000 after purchasing an additional 45,422 shares during the period. Jennison Associates LLC lifted its stake in shares of Heritage Financial by 0.9% in the 4th quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 3,107,165 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $73,484,000 after purchasing an additional 27,143 shares during the period. Finally, Algebris UK Ltd. boosted its position in shares of Heritage Financial by 16.8% in the 4th quarter. Algebris UK Ltd. now owns 520,686 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $12,320,000 after purchasing an additional 74,926 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 78.30% of the company’s stock.

Heritage Financial Trading Up 0.8%

Shares of HFWA traded up $0.22 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $29.42. 207,690 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 319,393. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $28.01 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $26.75. The company has a market capitalization of $1.21 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.42 and a beta of 0.49. The company has a quick ratio of 0.81, a current ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04. Heritage Financial has a 12 month low of $21.32 and a 12 month high of $30.58.

Heritage Financial (NASDAQ:HFWA) last released its earnings results on Thursday, April 23rd. The financial services provider reported $0.59 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 the consensus estimate of $80.31 million. Equities research analysts predict that Heritage Financial will post 2.39 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Heritage Financial Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, May 20th. Investors of record on Wednesday, May 6th were given a dividend of $0.24 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, May 6th. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.3%. Heritage Financial’s payout ratio is 47.06%.

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.