Heritage Financial (NASDAQ:HFWA) Price Target Lowered to $31.00 at Piper Sandler

Heritage Financial (NASDAQ:HFWA) had its price objective cut by investment analysts at Piper Sandler from $34.00 to $31.00 in a research report issued on Monday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an “overweight” rating on the financial services provider’s stock. Piper Sandler’s target price points to a potential upside of 37.53% from the stock’s previous close.

A number of other equities analysts have also recently weighed in on HFWA. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their price objective on Heritage Financial from $27.00 to $26.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a report on Monday. StockNews.com raised shares of Heritage Financial from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, January 27th.

Heritage Financial Price Performance

Shares of HFWA stock traded down $0.06 during trading on Monday, hitting $22.54. The company had a trading volume of 72,079 shares, compared to its average volume of 209,725. Heritage Financial has a 52 week low of $16.55 and a 52 week high of $27.58. The stock has a market capitalization of $766.19 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.19 and a beta of 0.47. The company has a quick ratio of 0.82, a current ratio of 0.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $23.27 and its two-hundred day moving average is $24.22.

Heritage Financial (NASDAQ:HFWA) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 24th. The financial services provider reported $0.49 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.46 by $0.03. Heritage Financial had a net margin of 13.64% and a return on equity of 7.17%. The firm had revenue of $57.59 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $61.74 million. As a group, analysts predict that Heritage Financial will post 2.09 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other news, CFO Donald Hinson sold 3,420 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $23.59, for a total transaction of $80,677.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 42,087 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $992,832.33. This represents a 7.52 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Jeffrey J. Deuel sold 7,033 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $23.66, for a total value of $166,400.78. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 70,906 shares in the company, valued at $1,677,635.96. The trade was a 9.02 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 11,311 shares of company stock valued at $267,473. 1.80% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Heritage Financial

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of HFWA. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its holdings in shares of Heritage Financial by 0.4% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 123,283 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,684,000 after acquiring an additional 500 shares in the last quarter. Brighton Jones LLC increased its position in Heritage Financial by 5.0% during the 1st quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 11,864 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $289,000 after purchasing an additional 567 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its holdings in Heritage Financial by 45.3% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,972 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $72,000 after purchasing an additional 927 shares in the last quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Heritage Financial by 794.1% in the 4th quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC now owns 1,064 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 945 shares during the period. Finally, Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD boosted its stake in shares of Heritage Financial by 6.8% during the 4th quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 29,901 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $733,000 after purchasing an additional 1,914 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 78.30% of the company’s stock.

About Heritage Financial

Heritage Financial Corporation operates as the bank holding company for Heritage Bank that provides various financial services to small and medium sized businesses and individuals in the United States. It accepts various deposit products, such as noninterest demand deposits, interest bearing demand deposits, money market accounts, savings accounts, personal checking accounts, and certificates of deposit.