Heritage Financial Corporation (HFWA) – What Are Analysts Saying About This Stock?

Shares of Heritage Financial Corporation (NASDAQ:HFWA) have been assigned a consensus recommendation of “Hold” from the seven ratings firms that are covering the stock, Marketbeat.com reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 12-month price objective among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $32.67.

Several research analysts have weighed in on the company. Capital One Financial set a $33.00 price objective on Heritage Financial in a research report on Tuesday, September 22nd. Zacks Research cut shares of Heritage Financial from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 23rd. Brean Capital raised shares of Heritage Financial from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $33.00 target price for the company in a research report on Tuesday, September 22nd. Stephens upped their price target on shares of Heritage Financial from $30.00 to $32.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 28th. Finally, 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 report on Monday, July 27th.

Insider Transactions at Heritage Financial

In other news, EVP Kelli Wilson sold 3,778 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $29.69, for a total transaction of $112,168.82. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 3,099 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $92,009.31. This trade represents a 54.94% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Matthew T. Ray sold 3,692 shares of Heritage Financial stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $30.10, for a total transaction of $111,129.20. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 22,735 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $684,323.50. The trade was a 13.97% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 22,004 shares of company stock worth $657,200. Company insiders own 1.49% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Heritage Financial

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. BlackRock Inc. bought a new position in shares of Heritage Financial in the second quarter worth $172,125,000. Jennison Associates LLC raised its stake in Heritage Financial by 3.4% in the first quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 3,213,473 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $83,550,000 after purchasing an additional 106,308 shares in the last quarter. Basswood Capital Management L.L.C. acquired a new position in Heritage Financial in the second quarter valued at about $20,408,000. Algebris UK Ltd. bought a new stake in Heritage Financial during the second quarter worth about $13,860,000. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp bought a new stake in Heritage Financial during the second quarter worth about $11,817,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 78.30% of the company’s stock.

Heritage Financial Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ HFWA opened at $27.46 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $1.12 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.08 and a beta of 0.50. The company has a current ratio of 0.83, a quick ratio of 0.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.17. Heritage Financial has a 1-year low of $21.32 and a 1-year high of $31.25. The business’s 50 day moving average is $28.41 and its 200-day moving average is $28.31.

Heritage Financial (NASDAQ:HFWA) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 23rd. The financial services provider reported $0.57 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.44 by $0.13. Heritage Financial had a return on equity of 8.78% and a net margin of 20.44%. The business had revenue of $84.12 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $86.30 million. Equities research analysts predict that Heritage Financial will post 2.34 earnings per share for the current year.

Heritage Financial Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, August 19th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, August 5th were issued a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, August 5th. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.6%. This is an increase from Heritage Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.24. Heritage Financial’s payout ratio is presently 47.62%.

About Heritage Financial

Heritage Financial Corporation is a bank holding company headquartered in Olympia, Washington. Through its principal subsidiary, Heritage Bank, the company provides a range of banking services to individuals, businesses and organizations in the Pacific Northwest.

Heritage Bank offers commercial and consumer deposit accounts, business and residential real estate lending, commercial loans, construction financing, consumer loans, treasury management and other financial services. The bank serves clients through a network of branches and digital banking channels, with operations concentrated in Washington and Oregon.

Heritage Financial traces its roots to Heritage Bank, which was established in 1927.