Heritage Financial (NASDAQ:HFWA) Upgraded by Brean Capital to Buy Rating

Heritage Financial (NASDAQ:HFWA) was upgraded by research analysts at Brean Capital from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report issued on Tuesday, Marketbeat reports. The brokerage presently has a $33.00 target price on the financial services provider’s stock. Brean Capital’s price objective suggests a potential upside of 17.86% from the stock’s current price.

A number of other brokerages have also commented on HFWA. Zacks Research raised Heritage Financial from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, June 26th. DA Davidson upped 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. Stephens increased their price target on Heritage Financial from $30.00 to $32.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 28th. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Heritage Financial in a research note on Tuesday, July 7th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their target price on shares of Heritage Financial from $31.00 to $32.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Monday, July 27th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $32.60.

Heritage Financial Stock Performance

HFWA stock opened at $28.00 on Tuesday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $29.35 and a two-hundred day moving average of $27.98. Heritage Financial has a 12 month low of $21.32 and a 12 month high of $31.25. The company has a market capitalization of $1.15 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.33 and a beta of 0.48. The company has a quick ratio of 0.83, a current ratio of 0.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.17.

Heritage Financial (NASDAQ:HFWA) last released its quarterly earnings data 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. The business had revenue of $84.12 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $86.30 million. Heritage Financial had a net margin of 20.44% and a return on equity of 8.78%. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Heritage Financial will post 2.37 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Jeffrey Lyon sold 10,000 shares of Heritage Financial stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $30.00, for a total transaction of $300,000.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 40,719 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,221,570. This trade represents a 19.72% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Kelli Wilson sold 3,778 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $29.69, for a total value of $112,168.82. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 3,099 shares in the company, valued at $92,009.31. This represents a 54.94% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold 22,004 shares of company stock valued at $657,200 in the last quarter. 1.49% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Heritage Financial

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Legal & General Group Plc bought a new stake in Heritage Financial in the second quarter valued at $2,665,000. Heartland Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in Heritage Financial during the second quarter worth $8,146,000. Rhino Investment Partners Inc lifted 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 valued at $8,592,000 after acquiring an additional 144,515 shares during the period. Martin & Co. Inc. TN bought a new position in shares of Heritage Financial during the second quarter valued at $4,031,000. Finally, The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company acquired a new stake in shares of Heritage Financial in the 2nd quarter valued at $9,142,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 78.30% of the company’s stock.

Heritage Financial Company Profile

Heritage Financial Corporation (NASDAQ: HFWA) is a bank holding company headquartered in Olympia, Washington. Through its principal subsidiary, Heritage Bank, the company provides a range of banking and financial services to businesses, individuals, and organizations in communities across Washington and Oregon.

Heritage Bank’s offerings include commercial and industrial lending, commercial real estate and construction loans, residential real estate financing, consumer loans, deposit accounts, cash-management services, online and mobile banking, and other treasury-management solutions.