Heritage Financial (NASDAQ:HFWA) Reaches New 52-Week High – Should You Buy?

Shares of Heritage Financial Corporation (NASDAQ:HFWA) hit a new 52-week high during trading on Friday . The stock traded as high as $28.44 and last traded at $28.39, with a volume of 71769 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $27.78.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

HFWA has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Wall Street Zen raised Heritage Financial from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, November 15th. Piper Sandler lifted their price target on shares of Heritage Financial from $33.00 to $35.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday. Zacks Research lowered shares of Heritage Financial from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 25th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Heritage Financial in a report on Thursday, January 22nd. Finally, Stephens lifted their target price on shares of Heritage Financial from $28.00 to $30.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, January 26th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Heritage Financial currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $31.25.

Heritage Financial Stock Performance

The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $25.00 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $24.03. The company has a market capitalization of $959.46 million, a P/E ratio of 14.42 and a beta of 0.53. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05, a current ratio of 0.83 and a quick ratio of 0.84.

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

Heritage Financial Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, February 11th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, January 28th will be given a dividend of $0.24 per share. The ex-dividend date is 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%.

Insider Activity at Heritage Financial

In other Heritage Financial news, President Bryan Mcdonald bought 19,106 shares of Heritage Financial stock in a transaction dated Thursday, November 20th. The shares were bought at an average price of $22.32 per share, with a total value of $426,445.92. Following the purchase, the president owned 31,363 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $700,022.16. This trade represents a 155.88% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director Frederick B. Rivera sold 1,800 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $26.31, for a total transaction of $47,358.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 4,972 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $130,813.32. This trade represents a 26.58% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. 1.80% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Heritage Financial

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of HFWA. Algebris UK Ltd. bought a new stake in Heritage Financial in the third quarter valued at about $10,775,000. State of Alaska Department of Revenue raised its position in shares of Heritage Financial by 7.7% in the 2nd quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue now owns 20,292 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $483,000 after acquiring an additional 1,457 shares during the period. Deprince Race & Zollo Inc. boosted its stake in Heritage Financial by 61.0% during the 3rd quarter. Deprince Race & Zollo Inc. now owns 70,514 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,706,000 after acquiring an additional 26,727 shares during the last quarter. Jennison Associates LLC grew its holdings in Heritage Financial by 8.2% during the second quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 2,977,315 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $70,979,000 after purchasing an additional 225,201 shares during the period. Finally, Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership grew its holdings in Heritage Financial by 13.4% during the second quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 504,509 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $12,027,000 after purchasing an additional 59,633 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.