Heritage Financial (NASDAQ:HFWA) EVP Sells $96,761.28 in Stock

Heritage Financial Corporation (NASDAQ:HFWA) EVP Tony Chalfant sold 3,234 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 owned 20,362 shares in the company, valued at $609,231.04. This represents a 13.71% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink.

Heritage Financial Stock Down 0.5%

Shares of NASDAQ:HFWA opened at $29.50 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $29.22 and a 200 day simple moving average of $27.56. Heritage Financial Corporation has a 52 week low of $21.32 and a 52 week high of $31.25. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.17, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a current ratio of 0.83. The company has a market cap of $1.22 billion, a PE ratio of 14.05 and a beta of 0.50.

Heritage Financial (NASDAQ:HFWA) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, July 23rd. The financial services provider reported $0.57 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.44 by $0.13. Heritage Financial had a net margin of 20.44% and a return on equity of 8.78%. The company had revenue of $84.12 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $86.30 million. As a group, research analysts expect that Heritage Financial Corporation will post 2.37 earnings per share for the current year.

Heritage Financial Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, August 19th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, August 5th will be paid a dividend of $0.25 per share. This is a boost from Heritage Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.24. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, August 5th. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.4%. Heritage Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 47.62%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

HFWA has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Piper Sandler cut their price objective 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. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price target on shares of Heritage Financial from $31.00 to $32.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Monday, July 27th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Heritage Financial from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, May 16th. Stephens increased their target price on Heritage Financial from $30.00 to $32.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 28th. Finally, DA Davidson raised their target price on Heritage Financial from $32.00 to $34.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, July 24th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Heritage Financial currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $32.50.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Heritage Financial

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC grew its stake in 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 worth $47,000 after buying an additional 1,951 shares during the last quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC increased its holdings 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 buying an additional 1,431 shares in the last quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of Heritage Financial in the second quarter valued at approximately $95,000. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Heritage Financial by 12.2% in the 2nd 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. Finally, CWM LLC grew its position in Heritage Financial by 7.7% during the 4th quarter. CWM LLC now owns 8,249 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $195,000 after acquiring an additional 592 shares during 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.