Heritage Financial (NASDAQ:HFWA) Reaches New 12-Month High – Time to Buy?

Heritage Financial Corporation (NASDAQ:HFWA)’s stock price reached a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Thursday . The company traded as high as $30.72 and last traded at $30.8460, with a volume of 14735 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $30.18.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have issued reports on HFWA. Zacks Research upgraded Heritage Financial from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, June 26th. Piper Sandler cut 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. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Heritage Financial in a research report on Tuesday, July 7th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised Heritage Financial from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, May 16th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Heritage Financial currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $30.50.

Heritage Financial Stock Up 2.6%

The firm has a market capitalization of $1.28 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.17 and a beta of 0.49. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a current ratio of 0.81. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $28.15 and its 200 day moving average is $26.88.

Heritage Financial (NASDAQ:HFWA) last released its earnings results on Thursday, April 23rd. The financial services provider reported $0.59 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.57 by $0.02. Heritage Financial had a return on equity of 8.71% and a net margin of 20.50%.The firm had revenue of $77.92 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $80.31 million. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Heritage Financial Corporation will post 2.39 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Heritage Financial Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, May 20th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, May 6th were given a dividend of $0.24 per share. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, May 6th. Heritage Financial’s dividend payout ratio is currently 47.06%.

Insider Activity

In related news, CFO Donald Hinson sold 3,842 shares of Heritage Financial stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $28.37, for a total value 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. This trade represents a 8.52% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders own 1.49% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Heritage Financial

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Jennison Associates LLC lifted its position in shares of Heritage Financial by 3.4% in the first quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 3,213,473 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $83,550,000 after purchasing an additional 106,308 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in Heritage Financial by 1.9% in 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. State Street Corp increased its stake in Heritage Financial by 3.2% in the 4th quarter. State Street Corp now owns 1,573,458 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $37,212,000 after buying an additional 48,765 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Heritage Financial by 0.5% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 842,598 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $19,929,000 after buying an additional 4,170 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Basswood Capital Management L.L.C. lifted its position in Heritage Financial by 163.1% during the 4th quarter. Basswood Capital Management L.L.C. now owns 607,105 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $14,358,000 after buying an additional 376,368 shares in the last quarter. 78.30% of the stock is 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.