Heritage Financial Co. (NASDAQ:HFWA) Announces $0.23 Quarterly Dividend

Heritage Financial Co. (NASDAQ:HFWA) announced a quarterly dividend on Wednesday, April 24th, Zacks reports. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, May 8th will be paid a dividend of 0.23 per share by the financial services provider on Wednesday, May 22nd. This represents a $0.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.09%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, May 7th.

Heritage Financial has increased its dividend payment by an average of 3.2% annually over the last three years and has increased its dividend annually for the last 2 consecutive years. Heritage Financial has a payout ratio of 48.2% indicating that its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Equities research analysts expect Heritage Financial to earn $1.84 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $0.92 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 50.0%.

Heritage Financial Stock Down 2.8 %

Shares of HFWA opened at $18.09 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.78, a quick ratio of 0.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61. Heritage Financial has a 12 month low of $14.85 and a 12 month high of $22.55. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $18.41 and its two-hundred day moving average is $18.72. The firm has a market cap of $626.82 million, a P/E ratio of 10.34 and a beta of 0.54.

Heritage Financial (NASDAQ:HFWA) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 25th. The financial services provider reported $0.47 EPS for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.47. Heritage Financial had a return on equity of 8.66% and a net margin of 20.37%. The firm had revenue of $50.72 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $62.00 million. Analysts predict that Heritage Financial will post 1.74 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have weighed in on HFWA. Stephens reissued an “equal weight” rating and set a $22.00 price objective on shares of Heritage Financial in a research note on Wednesday, March 13th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their price target on Heritage Financial from $23.00 to $22.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 26th. DA Davidson decreased their price target on Heritage Financial from $24.00 to $23.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 26th. Finally, StockNews.com raised Heritage Financial from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, January 26th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Heritage Financial currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $22.25.

Heritage Financial Company Profile

Heritage Financial Corporation operates as the bank holding company for Heritage Bank that provides various financial services to small and medium sized businesses and individuals in the United States. It accepts various deposit products, such as noninterest demand deposits, interest bearing demand deposits, money market accounts, savings accounts, personal checking accounts, and certificates of deposit.