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

Shares of Heritage Financial Corporation (NASDAQ:HFWA) have earned a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from the six analysts that are covering the stock, Marketbeat reports. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 12 month price objective among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $31.25.

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on the company. DA Davidson upped their price target on Heritage Financial from $29.00 to $32.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 23rd. Piper Sandler lifted their price objective on shares of Heritage Financial from $33.00 to $35.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, February 5th. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Heritage Financial from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Saturday, February 28th. Stephens increased their target price on shares of Heritage Financial from $28.00 to $30.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, January 26th. Finally, Weiss Ratings raised shares of Heritage Financial from a “hold (c)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research report on Monday, March 2nd.

Heritage Financial Price Performance

HFWA stock opened at $25.17 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05, a quick ratio of 0.83 and a current ratio of 0.83. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $26.39 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $24.72. The company has a market capitalization of $1.04 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.84 and a beta of 0.51. Heritage Financial has a 52-week low of $19.84 and a 52-week high of $28.98.

Heritage Financial (NASDAQ:HFWA) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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 return on equity of 8.61% and a net margin of 20.10%.The firm had revenue of $66.35 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $65.95 million. Research analysts expect that Heritage Financial 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. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, January 28th were given a $0.24 dividend. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, January 28th. Heritage Financial’s dividend payout ratio is presently 48.98%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Heritage Financial

In other news, EVP Tony Chalfant sold 4,668 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $27.65, for a total value of $129,070.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 19,870 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $549,405.50. This represents a 19.02% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Frederick B. Rivera sold 1,800 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $26.31, for a total value of $47,358.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 4,972 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $130,813.32. The trade was a 26.58% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 8,368 shares of company stock worth $226,740. Insiders own 1.49% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Heritage Financial

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Hantz Financial Services Inc. grew its stake in Heritage Financial by 316.9% in the 3rd quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 1,651 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $40,000 after purchasing an additional 1,255 shares during the period. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Heritage Financial by 27,871.4% during the 2nd 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 raised its stake in shares of Heritage Financial by 99.1% during the 2nd 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 during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Heritage Financial by 20.8% in the 4th quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 5,171 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $122,000 after buying an additional 891 shares during the last quarter. Finally, CWM LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Heritage Financial by 100.5% in the 3rd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 7,657 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $185,000 after buying an additional 3,838 shares during the last quarter. 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.