Heritage Financial Corporation (NASDAQ:HFWA) Stock Rated “Hold” by Wall Street Brokerages

Shares of Heritage Financial Corporation (NASDAQ:HFWA) have been given a consensus rating of “Hold” by the seven analysts that are covering the firm, Marketbeat.com reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, two have issued a hold recommendation and four have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average twelve-month price objective among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $32.67.

Several equities analysts have issued reports on the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their target price 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. DA Davidson raised their price target on Heritage Financial from $32.00 to $34.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, July 24th. Brean Capital raised Heritage Financial from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $33.00 price target for the company in a report on Tuesday, September 22nd. Zacks Research downgraded Heritage Financial from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 23rd. Finally, Capital One Financial set a $33.00 price objective on Heritage Financial in a report on Tuesday, September 22nd.

Heritage Financial Trading Up 0.3%

Shares of Heritage Financial stock opened at $27.24 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $1.11 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.97 and a beta of 0.50. Heritage Financial has a 52-week low of $21.32 and a 52-week high of $31.25. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $28.66 and its 200-day simple moving average is $28.25. The company has a quick ratio of 0.83, a current ratio of 0.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.17.

Heritage Financial (NASDAQ:HFWA) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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 firm had revenue of $84.12 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $86.30 million. Heritage Financial had a net margin of 20.44% and a return on equity of 8.78%. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Heritage Financial will post 2.34 earnings per share for the current year.

Heritage Financial Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, August 19th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, August 5th were issued a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.7%. This is an increase from Heritage Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.24. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, August 5th. Heritage Financial’s dividend payout ratio is 47.62%.

Insider Activity at Heritage Financial

In other Heritage Financial news, Director Frederick Rivera sold 1,300 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $28.57, for a total transaction of $37,141.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 5,890 shares in the company, valued at approximately $168,277.30. The trade was a 18.08% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Tony Chalfant sold 3,234 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 5th. The stock was 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 in the company, valued at approximately $609,231.04. This trade represents a 13.71% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 22,004 shares of company stock worth $657,200. 1.49% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Apella Capital LLC purchased a new position in Heritage Financial in the third quarter valued at about $285,000. Tidal Investments LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Heritage Financial in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $419,000. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Heritage Financial in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $68,000. Squarepoint Ops LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Heritage Financial in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $214,000. Finally, Arizona State Retirement System increased its stake in Heritage Financial by 21.7% in the 2nd quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 11,349 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $336,000 after purchasing an additional 2,022 shares in the last quarter. 78.30% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Heritage Financial Company Profile

Heritage Financial Corporation is a bank holding company headquartered in Olympia, Washington. Through its principal subsidiary, Heritage Bank, the company provides a range of banking services to individuals, businesses and organizations in the Pacific Northwest.

Heritage Bank offers commercial and consumer deposit accounts, business and residential real estate lending, commercial loans, construction financing, consumer loans, treasury management and other financial services. The bank serves clients through a network of branches and digital banking channels, with operations concentrated in Washington and Oregon.

Heritage Financial traces its roots to Heritage Bank, which was established in 1927.