Analysts Set Heritage Financial Corporation (NASDAQ:HFWA) Price Target at $31.25

Heritage Financial Corporation (NASDAQ:HFWA) has been given a consensus rating of “Hold” by the six ratings firms that are covering the firm, MarketBeat reports. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and two have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1 year target price among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $31.25.

A number of brokerages recently commented on HFWA. DA Davidson upped their price target on shares of Heritage Financial from $29.00 to $32.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 23rd. Piper Sandler boosted their target price on shares of Heritage Financial from $33.00 to $35.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday. Wall Street Zen upgraded Heritage Financial from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, November 15th. Stephens raised their price target on Heritage Financial from $28.00 to $30.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, January 26th. Finally, Zacks Research lowered Heritage Financial from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 25th.

Heritage Financial Stock Up 1.5%

Shares of NASDAQ HFWA opened at $28.19 on Thursday. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $25.08 and its 200-day moving average price is $24.05. Heritage Financial has a one year low of $19.84 and a one year high of $28.44. The stock has a market capitalization of $957.33 million, a PE ratio of 14.38 and a beta of 0.53. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05, a current ratio of 0.83 and a quick ratio of 0.84.

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, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.57 by $0.09. The business had revenue of $66.35 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $65.95 million. Heritage Financial had a return on equity of 8.61% and a net margin of 20.10%. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Heritage Financial will post 2.09 EPS for the current year.

Heritage Financial Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared 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 is Wednesday, January 28th. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.4%. Heritage Financial’s dividend payout ratio is currently 48.98%.

Insider Transactions at Heritage Financial

In other Heritage Financial news, EVP Kelli Ann Wilson sold 1,900 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, January 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $26.48, for a total value of $50,312.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 3,778 shares in the company, valued at $100,041.44. This represents a 33.46% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Frederick B. Rivera sold 1,800 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $26.31, for a total transaction of $47,358.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 4,972 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $130,813.32. The trade was a 26.58% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders own 1.80% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Heritage Financial

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in HFWA. Jennison Associates LLC boosted its stake in Heritage Financial by 0.9% during 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 buying an additional 27,143 shares during the period. Victory Capital Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Heritage Financial by 9.2% in the 3rd quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 2,626,334 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $63,531,000 after acquiring an additional 220,273 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Heritage Financial by 1.9% during 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 acquiring an additional 45,422 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Heritage Financial by 0.4% during the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 828,029 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $19,741,000 after purchasing an additional 3,447 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Algebris UK Ltd. increased its position in shares of Heritage Financial by 16.8% in the fourth quarter. Algebris UK Ltd. now owns 520,686 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $12,320,000 after purchasing an additional 74,926 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other 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.