Brokerages Set Heritage Financial Corporation (NASDAQ:HFWA) PT at $31.00

Shares of Heritage Financial Corporation (NASDAQ:HFWA) have been assigned an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the six ratings firms that are currently covering the stock, MarketBeat.com reports. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and three have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 12 month price objective among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $31.00.

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on HFWA shares. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Heritage Financial from a “hold (c)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a report on Monday, March 2nd. DA Davidson lifted 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. Stephens lifted their price target on shares of Heritage Financial from $28.00 to $30.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, January 26th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Heritage Financial from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, April 4th. Finally, Piper Sandler cut their price target on shares of Heritage Financial from $35.00 to $34.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 2nd.

Heritage Financial Stock Performance

Shares of Heritage Financial stock opened at $27.70 on Tuesday. Heritage Financial has a fifty-two week low of $21.32 and a fifty-two week high of $28.98. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05, a current ratio of 0.83 and a quick ratio of 0.83. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.14 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.13 and a beta of 0.49. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $26.47 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $25.03.

Heritage Financial (NASDAQ:HFWA) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, April 23rd. The financial services provider reported $0.59 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.57 by $0.02. Heritage Financial had a net margin of 20.10% and a return on equity of 8.61%. The firm had revenue of $77.92 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $80.31 million. On average, equities analysts forecast that Heritage Financial will post 2.53 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Heritage Financial Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 20th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, May 6th will be issued a dividend of $0.24 per share. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.5%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, May 6th. Heritage Financial’s payout ratio is 48.98%.

Insider Transactions at Heritage Financial

In other news, EVP Kelli Ann Wilson sold 1,900 shares of Heritage Financial stock in a transaction on Monday, January 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $26.48, for a total transaction of $50,312.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 3,778 shares in the company, valued at approximately $100,041.44. The trade was a 33.46% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Frederick B. Rivera sold 1,800 shares of Heritage Financial stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $26.31, for a total transaction of $47,358.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 4,972 shares in the company, valued at approximately $130,813.32. This trade represents a 26.58% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 8,368 shares of company stock worth $226,740. Company insiders own 1.49% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Heritage Financial

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of HFWA. Brighton Jones LLC increased its stake in Heritage Financial by 3.7% in the third quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 12,452 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $301,000 after purchasing an additional 450 shares in the last quarter. CWM LLC increased its position in shares of Heritage Financial by 7.7% during the fourth quarter. CWM LLC now owns 8,249 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $195,000 after acquiring an additional 592 shares in the last quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. increased its position in shares of Heritage Financial by 4.6% during the first quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 20,060 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $488,000 after acquiring an additional 881 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its position in shares of Heritage Financial by 20.8% during the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 5,171 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $122,000 after acquiring an additional 891 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Intech Investment Management LLC increased its position in shares of Heritage Financial by 2.7% during the third quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 35,891 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $868,000 after acquiring an additional 960 shares in the last quarter. 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.