Heritage Financial (NASDAQ:HFWA) Hits New 52-Week High – Time to Buy?

Heritage Financial Corporation (NASDAQ:HFWA) hit a new 52-week high on Tuesday . The company traded as high as $28.60 and last traded at $28.29, with a volume of 13519 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $28.09.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts recently commented on HFWA shares. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Heritage Financial in a research note on Thursday, January 22nd. Stephens boosted their price objective on Heritage Financial from $28.00 to $30.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, January 26th. Piper Sandler boosted their price objective on shares of Heritage Financial from $33.00 to $35.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 5th. DA Davidson lifted their target price on Heritage Financial from $29.00 to $32.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 23rd. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised shares of Heritage Financial from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, November 15th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $31.25.

Heritage Financial Stock Performance

The company has a market capitalization of $966.57 million, a P/E ratio of 14.54 and a beta of 0.53. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $25.54 and its 200-day moving average price is $24.25. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05, a quick ratio of 0.84 and a current ratio of 0.83.

Heritage Financial (NASDAQ:HFWA) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 22nd. The financial services provider reported $0.66 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.57 by $0.09. The firm had revenue of $66.35 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $65.95 million. Heritage Financial had a return on equity of 8.61% and a net margin of 20.10%. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Heritage Financial Corporation will post 2.09 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Heritage Financial Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, February 11th. Investors of record on Wednesday, January 28th were issued a dividend of $0.24 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, January 28th. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.4%. Heritage Financial’s payout ratio is presently 48.98%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, President Bryan Mcdonald acquired 19,106 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, November 20th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $22.32 per share, for a total transaction of $426,445.92. Following the completion of the acquisition, the president directly owned 31,363 shares in the company, valued at approximately $700,022.16. This trade represents a 155.88% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Kelli Ann Wilson sold 1,900 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $26.48, for a total transaction of $50,312.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 3,778 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $100,041.44. This represents a 33.46% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 8,368 shares of company stock worth $226,740. Company insiders own 1.90% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Heritage Financial

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in HFWA. Jennison Associates LLC increased its stake in shares of Heritage Financial by 0.9% during the fourth quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 3,107,165 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $73,484,000 after purchasing an additional 27,143 shares during the period. Victory Capital Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of Heritage Financial by 9.2% in the third quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 2,626,334 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $63,531,000 after acquiring an additional 220,273 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 45,422 shares during the period. State Street Corp increased its position in 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 acquiring an additional 48,765 shares during the period. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC raised 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 worth $19,929,000 after purchasing an additional 4,170 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 78.30% of the company’s stock.

Heritage Financial Company Profile

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.