Heritage Financial (NASDAQ:HFWA) Price Target Raised to $30.00

Heritage Financial (NASDAQ:HFWA) had its price objective raised by Stephens from $28.00 to $30.00 in a research note published on Monday morning, Marketbeat.com reports. The firm currently has an equal weight rating on the financial services provider’s stock.

A number of other equities analysts also recently commented on HFWA. DA Davidson raised their price objective on Heritage Financial from $29.00 to $32.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 23rd. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Heritage Financial in a report on Thursday, January 22nd. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Heritage Financial from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, November 15th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price objective on shares of Heritage Financial from $26.00 to $28.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Monday, September 29th. Finally, Zacks Research downgraded shares of Heritage Financial from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 25th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $30.25.

Heritage Financial Price Performance

Heritage Financial stock opened at $25.20 on Monday. Heritage Financial has a 1 year low of $19.84 and a 1 year high of $28.35. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05, a quick ratio of 0.84 and a current ratio of 0.83. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $24.65 and a 200 day moving average price of $23.97. The company has a market cap of $855.79 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.86 and a beta of 0.52.

Heritage Financial (NASDAQ:HFWA) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 22nd. The financial services provider reported $0.66 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.57 by $0.09. Heritage Financial had a net margin of 20.10% and a return on equity of 8.61%. The company had revenue of $66.35 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $65.95 million. Sell-side analysts predict that Heritage Financial will post 2.09 earnings per share for the current year.

Heritage Financial Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, February 11th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, January 28th will be issued a dividend of $0.24 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, January 28th. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.8%. Heritage Financial’s payout ratio is currently 48.98%.

Insider Activity at Heritage Financial

In other news, EVP Kelli Ann Wilson sold 1,900 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, January 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $26.48, for a total transaction of $50,312.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 3,778 shares in the company, valued at approximately $100,041.44. This represents a 33.46% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, President Bryan Mcdonald purchased 19,106 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, November 20th. The stock was bought at an average price of $22.32 per share, with a total value of $426,445.92. Following the purchase, the president owned 31,363 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $700,022.16. The trade was a 155.88% increase in their position. Additional details regarding this purchase are available in the official SEC disclosure. Corporate insiders own 1.90% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Heritage Financial

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of HFWA. Jennison Associates LLC lifted its holdings in Heritage Financial by 8.2% during the 2nd quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 2,977,315 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $70,979,000 after buying an additional 225,201 shares during the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. lifted its stake in Heritage Financial by 9.2% during the third 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 during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in Heritage Financial by 0.4% during the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 828,029 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $19,741,000 after purchasing an additional 3,447 shares during the last quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership boosted its holdings in Heritage Financial by 13.4% in the second quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 504,509 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $12,027,000 after purchasing an additional 59,633 shares during the period. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP bought a new stake in Heritage Financial during the third quarter valued at $11,210,000. 78.30% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.