Heritage Financial (NASDAQ:HFWA) Issues Earnings Results, Beats Expectations By $0.28 EPS

Heritage Financial (NASDAQ:HFWA) issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday. The financial services provider reported $0.59 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.31 by $0.28, Zacks reports. Heritage Financial had a return on equity of 8.61% and a net margin of 20.10%.

Heritage Financial Price Performance

Shares of HFWA traded up $0.78 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $28.11. The company had a trading volume of 66,336 shares, compared to its average volume of 292,602. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05, a current ratio of 0.83 and a quick ratio of 0.83. The company has a market capitalization of $1.16 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.30 and a beta of 0.49. Heritage Financial has a twelve month low of $21.32 and a twelve month high of $28.98. The company’s 50-day moving average is $26.47 and its 200-day moving average is $25.02.

Insider Activity at Heritage Financial

In other Heritage Financial news, Director Frederick B. Rivera sold 1,800 shares of Heritage Financial stock in a transaction 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 completion of the transaction, 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. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Kelli Ann Wilson sold 1,900 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, January 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $26.48, for a total transaction of $50,312.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 3,778 shares in the company, valued at $100,041.44. This represents a 33.46% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold a total of 8,368 shares of company stock valued at $226,740 in the last 90 days. 1.49% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Heritage Financial

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. boosted its position in Heritage Financial by 4.6% in the first quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 20,060 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $488,000 after buying an additional 881 shares in the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC grew its stake in Heritage Financial by 7.2% during the third quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 15,700 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $380,000 after buying an additional 1,052 shares during the last quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC increased its holdings in shares of Heritage Financial by 99.1% during the second quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 2,875 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $69,000 after buying an additional 1,431 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its holdings in shares of Heritage Financial by 4.9% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 36,996 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $895,000 after buying an additional 1,734 shares in the last quarter. Finally, EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Heritage Financial by 27,871.4% in the second quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,958 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $47,000 after acquiring an additional 1,951 shares during the last quarter. 78.30% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have recently weighed in on HFWA shares. Weiss Ratings raised Heritage Financial from a “hold (c)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a report on Monday, March 2nd. Stephens raised their target price on Heritage Financial from $28.00 to $30.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, January 26th. DA Davidson lifted their price target on shares of Heritage Financial from $29.00 to $32.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 23rd. Piper Sandler lowered their price target on shares of Heritage Financial from $35.00 to $34.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 2nd. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Heritage Financial from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, April 4th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Heritage Financial has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $31.00.

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.