Heritage Financial Corporation (NASDAQ:HFWA) Given Average Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by Brokerages

Shares of Heritage Financial Corporation (NASDAQ:HFWA) have been assigned a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from the six analysts that are covering the stock, Marketbeat reports. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and three have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12-month price objective among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $32.50.

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Stephens increased their target price on shares of Heritage Financial from $30.00 to $32.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 28th. Wall Street Zen raised Heritage Financial from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, May 16th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price target on Heritage Financial from $31.00 to $32.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Monday, July 27th. Zacks Research raised Heritage Financial from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, June 26th. Finally, Piper Sandler dropped their price objective on Heritage Financial from $34.00 to $32.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 27th.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Heritage Financial news, EVP Tony Chalfant sold 3,234 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $29.92, for a total transaction of $96,761.28. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 20,362 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $609,231.04. This trade represents a 13.71% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Jeffrey S. Lyon sold 10,000 shares of Heritage Financial stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $30.00, for a total transaction of $300,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 40,719 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,221,570. This trade represents a 19.72% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold 24,546 shares of company stock worth $729,057 in the last 90 days. 1.49% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of HFWA. California State Teachers Retirement System increased its stake in Heritage Financial by 4,531.2% during the 2nd quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 1,461,510 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $43,290,000 after buying an additional 1,429,952 shares in the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC purchased a new position in shares of Heritage Financial in the second quarter valued at approximately $5,299,000. Bank of America Corp DE purchased a new position in shares of Heritage Financial in the second quarter valued at approximately $5,557,000. Basswood Capital Management L.L.C. acquired a new stake in shares of Heritage Financial in the second quarter worth approximately $20,408,000. Finally, Odyssean LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Heritage Financial in the second quarter worth approximately $945,000. 78.30% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Heritage Financial Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ HFWA opened at $29.10 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $1.19 billion, a PE ratio of 13.86 and a beta of 0.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.17, a quick ratio of 0.83 and a current ratio of 0.83. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $29.51 and its 200 day moving average price is $27.81. Heritage Financial has a 1 year low of $21.32 and a 1 year high of $31.25.

Heritage Financial (NASDAQ:HFWA) last released its quarterly earnings data 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 $84.12 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $86.30 million. Heritage Financial had a net margin of 20.44% and a return on equity of 8.78%. On average, research analysts predict that Heritage Financial will post 2.37 earnings per share for the current year.

Heritage Financial Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, August 19th. Investors of record on Wednesday, August 5th were paid a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, August 5th. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.4%. This is an increase from Heritage Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.24. Heritage Financial’s dividend payout ratio is 47.62%.

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.