Analysts Set Heritage Financial Corporation (NASDAQ:HFWA) PT at $32.50

Heritage Financial Corporation (NASDAQ:HFWA) has been given a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by the six analysts that are presently covering the stock, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and three have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average twelve-month target price among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $32.50.

Several brokerages have commented on HFWA. Stephens upped their price target on Heritage Financial from $30.00 to $32.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 28th. Zacks Research raised Heritage Financial from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, June 26th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Heritage Financial in a report on Tuesday, July 7th. Piper Sandler dropped 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. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price target on shares of Heritage Financial from $31.00 to $32.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Monday, July 27th.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Jeffrey S. Lyon sold 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $30.00, for a total value of $300,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 40,719 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,221,570. This represents a 19.72% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Tony Chalfant sold 3,234 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $29.92, for a total transaction of $96,761.28. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 20,362 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $609,231.04. The trade was a 13.71% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold 20,854 shares of company stock worth $617,928 in the last 90 days. 1.49% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Heritage Financial

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Heritage Financial by 27,871.4% during the second quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,958 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $47,000 after acquiring an additional 1,951 shares in the last quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC increased its position in shares of Heritage Financial by 99.1% during the second quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 2,875 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $69,000 after acquiring an additional 1,431 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its stake in shares of Heritage Financial by 12.2% in the second quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 6,519 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $193,000 after acquiring an additional 710 shares in the last quarter. CWM LLC lifted its stake 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 worth $195,000 after acquiring an additional 592 shares in the last quarter. Finally, BNP Paribas Financial Markets boosted its holdings in Heritage Financial by 117.1% in the third quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 8,457 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $205,000 after purchasing an additional 4,561 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 78.30% of the company’s stock.

Heritage Financial Stock Down 1.7%

Shares of NASDAQ HFWA opened at $30.01 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.24 billion, a PE ratio of 14.29 and a beta of 0.50. The company has a quick ratio of 0.81, a current ratio of 0.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.17. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $29.12 and a 200-day moving average of $27.51. Heritage Financial has a 52-week low of $21.32 and a 52-week high of $31.25.

Heritage Financial (NASDAQ:HFWA) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, July 23rd. The financial services provider reported $0.57 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.44 by $0.13. Heritage Financial had a return on equity of 8.78% and a net margin of 20.44%.The business had revenue of $84.13 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $86.30 million. On average, analysts anticipate that Heritage Financial will post 2.37 EPS for the current year.

Heritage Financial Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, August 19th. Investors of record on Wednesday, August 5th will be issued a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.3%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, August 5th. This is an increase from Heritage Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.24. Heritage Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 47.62%.

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.