Heritage Financial (NASDAQ:HFWA) Given New $32.00 Price Target at Keefe, Bruyette & Woods

Heritage Financial (NASDAQ:HFWA) had its price objective boosted by Keefe, Bruyette & Woods from $31.00 to $32.00 in a research note released on Monday morning,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a market perform rating on the financial services provider’s stock.

A number of other brokerages have also recently commented on HFWA. Zacks Research raised Heritage Financial from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, June 26th. Wall Street Zen raised Heritage Financial from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, May 16th. DA Davidson raised their target price on shares of Heritage Financial from $32.00 to $34.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Heritage Financial in a report on Tuesday, July 7th. Finally, Piper Sandler decreased their target price on shares of Heritage Financial from $34.00 to $32.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 27th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $32.00.

Heritage Financial Stock Down 1.2%

HFWA opened at $29.80 on Monday. The company has a market cap of $1.23 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.19 and a beta of 0.49. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $28.73 and its 200-day moving average price is $27.24. The company has a current ratio of 0.83, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.17. Heritage Financial has a 12 month low of $21.32 and a 12 month high of $31.25.

Heritage Financial (NASDAQ:HFWA) last released its earnings results on Thursday, July 23rd. The financial services provider reported $0.57 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.44 by $0.13. The company had revenue of $84.13 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $86.30 million. Heritage Financial had a return on equity of 8.78% and a net margin of 20.44%. On average, equities analysts expect that Heritage Financial will post 2.42 EPS for the current year.

Heritage Financial Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, August 19th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, August 5th will be given a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, August 5th. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.4%. This is a positive change from Heritage Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.24. Heritage Financial’s dividend payout ratio is 45.71%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Heritage Financial

In other news, CFO Donald Hinson sold 3,842 shares of Heritage Financial stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $28.37, for a total transaction of $108,997.54. Following the sale, the chief financial officer owned 41,241 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,170,007.17. The trade was a 8.52% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders own 1.49% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Heritage Financial

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Deprince Race & Zollo Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Heritage Financial by 71.4% during the 4th quarter. Deprince Race & Zollo Inc. now owns 120,867 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,859,000 after acquiring an additional 50,353 shares during the period. Basswood Capital Management L.L.C. lifted its stake in shares of Heritage Financial by 163.1% in the 4th quarter. Basswood Capital Management L.L.C. now owns 607,105 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $14,358,000 after purchasing an additional 376,368 shares during the period. Jennison Associates LLC lifted its stake in shares of Heritage Financial by 3.4% in the 1st quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 3,213,473 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $83,550,000 after purchasing an additional 106,308 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Heritage Financial by 1.9% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 2,412,325 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $57,051,000 after purchasing an additional 45,422 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Louisiana State Employees Retirement System bought a new stake in shares of Heritage Financial during the first quarter valued at approximately $473,000. 78.30% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other 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.