Piper Sandler Has Lowered Expectations for Heritage Financial (NASDAQ:HFWA) Stock Price

Heritage Financial (NASDAQ:HFWA) had its price target reduced by research analysts at Piper Sandler from $35.00 to $34.00 in a report released on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an “overweight” rating on the financial services provider’s stock. Piper Sandler’s price objective would indicate a potential upside of 30.27% from the company’s previous close.

A number of other equities analysts also recently weighed in on HFWA. DA Davidson boosted their price target on shares of Heritage Financial from $29.00 to $32.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 23rd. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Heritage Financial from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Saturday, February 28th. Stephens lifted their price objective on shares of Heritage Financial from $28.00 to $30.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, January 26th. Finally, Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Heritage Financial from a “hold (c)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research note on Monday, March 2nd. Three equities 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 presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $31.00.

Heritage Financial Price Performance

Heritage Financial stock opened at $26.10 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.07 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.32 and a beta of 0.49. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $26.37 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $24.77. Heritage Financial has a 1-year low of $19.84 and a 1-year high of $28.98. The company has a current ratio of 0.83, a quick ratio of 0.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05.

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

Insider Activity at Heritage Financial

In other Heritage Financial 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 transaction of $129,070.20. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 19,870 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $549,405.50. The trade was a 19.02% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Frederick B. Rivera sold 1,800 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $26.31, for a total value of $47,358.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 4,972 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $130,813.32. This represents a 26.58% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold a total of 8,368 shares of company stock worth $226,740 in the last quarter. 1.80% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Heritage Financial

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in HFWA. Hantz Financial Services Inc. grew its position in Heritage Financial by 316.9% in the third quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 1,651 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $40,000 after acquiring an additional 1,255 shares during the period. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC increased its stake in Heritage Financial by 27,871.4% during the second quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,958 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $47,000 after purchasing an additional 1,951 shares during the period. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC lifted its position in shares of Heritage Financial by 99.1% during the second quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 2,875 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $69,000 after purchasing an additional 1,431 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its stake in shares of Heritage Financial by 20.8% in the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 5,171 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $122,000 after purchasing an additional 891 shares during the period. Finally, CWM LLC boosted its stake in shares of Heritage Financial by 100.5% in the third quarter. CWM LLC now owns 7,657 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $185,000 after purchasing an additional 3,838 shares during the period. 78.30% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.