Analysts Set Heritage Financial Corporation (NASDAQ:HFWA) Price Target at $30.50

Shares of Heritage Financial Corporation (NASDAQ:HFWA) have been given a consensus recommendation of “Hold” by the six research firms that are presently covering the firm, Marketbeat reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average twelve-month price objective among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $30.50.

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on HFWA shares. 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. Zacks Research cut shares of Heritage Financial from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Heritage Financial from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, May 16th. Finally, Weiss Ratings raised Heritage Financial from a “hold (c)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a report on Monday, March 2nd.

Heritage Financial Price Performance

HFWA stock opened at $29.04 on Wednesday. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $27.25 and its two-hundred day moving average is $26.16. Heritage Financial has a 52-week low of $21.32 and a 52-week high of $29.12. The company has a market capitalization of $1.20 billion, a PE ratio of 14.24 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 (NASDAQ:HFWA) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 23rd. The financial services provider reported $0.59 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.57 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $77.92 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $80.31 million. Heritage Financial had a net margin of 20.50% and a return on equity of 8.71%. Analysts predict that Heritage Financial will post 2.39 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Heritage Financial Announces Dividend

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Heritage Financial

In related news, CFO Donald Hinson sold 3,842 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $28.37, for a total transaction of $108,997.54. Following the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 41,241 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,170,007.17. This represents a 8.52% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 1.49% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Heritage Financial

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Rhino Investment Partners Inc raised its holdings in shares of Heritage Financial by 77.7% during the first quarter. Rhino Investment Partners Inc now owns 330,459 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $8,592,000 after purchasing an additional 144,515 shares during the period. Empowered Funds LLC raised its stake in Heritage Financial by 8.9% during the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 166,079 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $4,318,000 after acquiring an additional 13,564 shares during the period. Quantinno Capital Management LP lifted its holdings in Heritage Financial by 29.9% in the first quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP now owns 55,145 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,434,000 after acquiring an additional 12,685 shares during the last quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in Heritage Financial by 21.7% in the first quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 40,326 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,048,000 after acquiring an additional 7,197 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sei Investments Co. boosted its stake in Heritage Financial by 74.4% in the first quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 79,334 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,063,000 after acquiring an additional 33,834 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 78.30% of the company’s stock.

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.