Heritage Financial (NASDAQ:HFWA) Hits New 12-Month High – What’s Next?

Heritage Financial Corporation (NASDAQ:HFWA) shares reached a new 52-week high on Friday . The company traded as high as $28.44 and last traded at $28.39, with a volume of 71769 shares. The stock had previously closed at $27.78.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts recently commented on the company. Piper Sandler raised their price objective on shares of Heritage Financial from $33.00 to $35.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday. DA Davidson raised their target price on Heritage Financial from $29.00 to $32.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 23rd. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Heritage Financial in a research report on Thursday, January 22nd. Zacks Research lowered Heritage Financial from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 25th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded Heritage Financial from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, November 15th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $31.25.

Heritage Financial Trading Up 1.7%

The company has a market capitalization of $959.46 million, a P/E ratio of 14.42 and a beta of 0.53. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $25.00 and a 200 day simple moving average of $24.03. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05, a quick ratio of 0.84 and a current ratio of 0.83.

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

Heritage Financial Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, February 11th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, January 28th will be given a dividend of $0.24 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, January 28th. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.4%. Heritage Financial’s dividend payout ratio is currently 48.98%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Frederick B. Rivera sold 1,800 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $26.31, for a total transaction of $47,358.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 4,972 shares in the company, valued at $130,813.32. The trade was a 26.58% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, President Bryan Mcdonald purchased 19,106 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, November 20th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $22.32 per share, with a total value of $426,445.92. Following the acquisition, the president owned 31,363 shares in the company, valued at approximately $700,022.16. This represents a 155.88% increase in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this purchase provides additional information. 1.80% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Heritage Financial

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Hantz Financial Services Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Heritage Financial by 316.9% during the 3rd quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 1,651 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $40,000 after acquiring an additional 1,255 shares during the period. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC raised its position in Heritage Financial by 27,871.4% in the second quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,958 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $47,000 after purchasing an additional 1,951 shares in the last quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC lifted its stake in 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 purchasing an additional 1,431 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its holdings in Heritage Financial by 20.8% during the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 5,171 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $122,000 after purchasing an additional 891 shares in the last quarter. Finally, CWM LLC grew its stake in shares of Heritage Financial by 100.5% in the 3rd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 7,657 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $185,000 after purchasing an additional 3,838 shares during the period. Institutional investors 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.