Heritage Financial Corporation (NASDAQ:HFWA) Given Consensus Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by Brokerages

Shares of Heritage Financial Corporation (NASDAQ:HFWA) have received an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the six research firms that are presently covering the company, Marketbeat.com reports. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. The average 1-year price objective among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $31.25.

Several equities analysts have weighed in on HFWA shares. Weiss Ratings upgraded Heritage Financial from a “hold (c)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research report on Monday, March 2nd. DA Davidson raised their price objective on Heritage Financial from $29.00 to $32.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 23rd. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Heritage Financial from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Saturday, February 28th. Stephens upped their target price on shares of Heritage Financial from $28.00 to $30.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, January 26th. Finally, Piper Sandler increased their target price on shares of Heritage Financial from $33.00 to $35.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 5th.

Insider Transactions at Heritage Financial

In related news, EVP Tony Chalfant sold 4,668 shares of Heritage Financial stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $27.65, for a total value of $129,070.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 19,870 shares in the company, valued at approximately $549,405.50. This trade represents a 19.02% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Frederick B. Rivera sold 1,800 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $26.31, for a total value of $47,358.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 4,972 shares in the company, valued at $130,813.32. This represents a 26.58% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 8,368 shares of company stock valued at $226,740. 1.80% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Heritage Financial

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Jennison Associates LLC boosted its holdings in Heritage Financial by 0.9% in the fourth quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 3,107,165 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $73,484,000 after purchasing an additional 27,143 shares in the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Heritage Financial by 9.2% during the 3rd quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 2,626,334 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $63,531,000 after buying an additional 220,273 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Heritage Financial by 1.9% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 2,412,325 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $57,051,000 after buying an additional 45,422 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp boosted its holdings in shares of Heritage Financial by 3.2% in the 4th quarter. State Street Corp now owns 1,573,458 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $37,212,000 after buying an additional 48,765 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of Heritage Financial by 0.5% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 842,598 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $19,929,000 after buying an additional 4,170 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 78.30% of the company’s stock.

Heritage Financial Price Performance

Shares of HFWA opened at $25.58 on Friday. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $26.39 and a 200 day moving average price of $24.72. Heritage Financial has a one year low of $19.84 and a one year high of $28.98. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05, a quick ratio of 0.83 and a current ratio of 0.83. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.05 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.05 and a beta of 0.51.

Heritage Financial (NASDAQ:HFWA) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, January 22nd. The financial services provider reported $0.66 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.57 by $0.09. Heritage Financial had a return on equity of 8.61% and a net margin of 20.10%.The business had revenue of $66.35 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $65.95 million. Equities research analysts forecast that Heritage Financial will post 2.09 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Heritage Financial Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, February 11th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, January 28th were given a dividend of $0.24 per share. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.8%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, January 28th. Heritage Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 48.98%.

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.