Heritage Financial (NASDAQ:HFWA) Price Target Raised to $32.00

Heritage Financial (NASDAQ:HFWA) had its target price lifted by equities research analysts at Stephens from $30.00 to $32.00 in a research report issued on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an “equal weight” rating on the financial services provider’s stock. Stephens’ price objective would indicate a potential upside of 7.38% from the stock’s previous close.

A number of other analysts also recently issued reports 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 increased their price objective on Heritage Financial from $32.00 to $34.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their target price on Heritage Financial from $31.00 to $32.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Monday. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Heritage Financial in a research note on Tuesday, July 7th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded Heritage Financial from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, May 16th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $32.50.

Heritage Financial Trading Down 1.2%

Shares of NASDAQ:HFWA opened at $29.80 on Tuesday. Heritage Financial has a 52 week low of $21.32 and a 52 week high of $31.25. The company’s 50 day moving average is $28.73 and its two-hundred day moving average is $27.24. The company has a market cap of $1.23 billion, a PE ratio of 14.19 and a beta of 0.49. The company has a current ratio of 0.83, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.17.

Heritage Financial (NASDAQ:HFWA) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, July 23rd. The financial services provider reported $0.57 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.44 by $0.13. The firm had revenue of $84.13 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $86.30 million. Heritage Financial had a net margin of 20.44% and a return on equity of 8.78%. Equities analysts predict that Heritage Financial will post 2.42 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CFO Donald Hinson sold 3,842 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $28.37, for a total value of $108,997.54. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 41,241 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,170,007.17. This represents a 8.52% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 1.49% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Heritage Financial

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its stake in Heritage Financial by 12.2% during the 2nd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 6,519 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $193,000 after acquiring an additional 710 shares during the last quarter. Rhino Investment Partners Inc grew its stake in shares of Heritage Financial by 77.7% in the 1st quarter. Rhino Investment Partners Inc now owns 330,459 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $8,592,000 after purchasing an additional 144,515 shares during the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC grew its stake in shares of Heritage Financial by 8.9% in the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 166,079 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $4,318,000 after purchasing an additional 13,564 shares during the last quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP increased its holdings in shares of Heritage Financial by 29.9% in the first quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP now owns 55,145 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,434,000 after purchasing an additional 12,685 shares during the period. Finally, Lazard Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Heritage Financial by 21.7% in the first quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 40,326 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,048,000 after purchasing an additional 7,197 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 78.30% of the company’s stock.

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.