Heritage Financial (NASDAQ:HFWA) Price Target Raised to $32.00

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

Several other equities analysts have also issued reports on the stock. Piper Sandler decreased their price target on shares of Heritage Financial from $34.00 to $32.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 27th. Wall Street Zen raised Heritage Financial from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, May 16th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Heritage Financial in a report on Tuesday, July 7th. Zacks Research raised Heritage Financial from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, June 26th. Finally, DA Davidson increased their price target on Heritage Financial from $32.00 to $34.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, July 24th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Heritage Financial currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $32.50.

Heritage Financial Price Performance

Heritage Financial stock opened at $29.84 on Monday. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.23 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.21 and a beta of 0.49. Heritage Financial has a 1 year low of $21.32 and a 1 year high of $31.25. The business has a 50-day moving average of $28.85 and a 200-day moving average of $27.32. 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 (NASDAQ:HFWA) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 23rd. The financial services provider reported $0.57 EPS 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 analysts’ expectations 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 anticipate that Heritage Financial will post 2.37 EPS for the current year.

Heritage Financial Increases Dividend

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

Insider Activity at Heritage Financial

In related news, CFO Donald Hinson sold 3,842 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $28.37, for a total value of $108,997.54. Following the sale, the chief financial officer directly 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 transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 1.49% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Heritage Financial

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in HFWA. Jennison Associates LLC raised 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. grew its holdings 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 worth $57,051,000 after buying an additional 45,422 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp grew its holdings in shares of Heritage Financial by 3.2% during the fourth quarter. State Street Corp now owns 1,573,458 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $37,212,000 after buying an additional 48,765 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position 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. raised its position in 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 buying an additional 376,368 shares during the last quarter. 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.