Heritage Financial (NASDAQ:HFWA) Stock Price Passes Above 200-Day Moving Average – Here’s What Happened

Heritage Financial Corporation (NASDAQ:HFWA)’s stock price passed above its two hundred day moving average during trading on Friday . The stock has a two hundred day moving average of $24.68 and traded as high as $25.73. Heritage Financial shares last traded at $24.89, with a volume of 230,438 shares traded.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts recently commented on HFWA shares. DA Davidson increased their price objective on Heritage Financial from $29.00 to $32.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 23rd. Stephens lifted their target price on shares of Heritage Financial from $28.00 to $30.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, January 26th. Zacks Research lowered shares of Heritage Financial from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 25th. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Heritage Financial from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Saturday, February 28th. Finally, Weiss Ratings raised shares of Heritage Financial from a “hold (c)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research note on Monday, March 2nd. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $31.25.

Heritage Financial Stock Performance

The stock has a 50-day moving average of $26.23 and a 200 day moving average of $24.68. The stock has a market cap of $1.02 billion, a PE ratio of 12.70 and a beta of 0.51. The company has a quick ratio of 0.83, a current ratio of 0.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05.

Heritage Financial (NASDAQ:HFWA) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, January 22nd. The financial services provider reported $0.66 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 company had revenue of $66.35 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $65.95 million. Equities analysts predict that Heritage Financial Corporation will post 2.09 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Heritage Financial Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, February 11th. Investors of record on Wednesday, January 28th were issued a $0.24 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, January 28th. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.9%. Heritage Financial’s dividend payout ratio is currently 48.98%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Heritage Financial news, EVP Kelli Ann Wilson sold 1,900 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $26.48, for a total value of $50,312.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 3,778 shares in the company, valued at $100,041.44. The trade was a 33.46% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Tony Chalfant sold 4,668 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 11th. The shares were 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 approximately $549,405.50. This trade represents a 19.02% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 8,368 shares of company stock worth $226,740. Insiders own 1.80% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Heritage Financial

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Invesco Ltd. raised its position in shares of Heritage Financial by 2.8% during the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 264,519 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $6,256,000 after buying an additional 7,292 shares during the period. EP Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Heritage Financial in the fourth quarter worth approximately $385,000. Empowered Funds LLC increased its stake in Heritage Financial by 10.7% during the fourth quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 152,515 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $3,607,000 after acquiring an additional 14,780 shares during the last quarter. Tudor Investment Corp ET AL acquired a new stake in Heritage Financial during the fourth quarter worth $325,000. Finally, Odyssean LLC purchased a new stake in Heritage Financial in the fourth quarter valued at $572,000. 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.