Heritage Financial Corporation (NASDAQ:HFWA) Receives Consensus Rating of “Moderate Buy” from Brokerages

Shares of Heritage Financial Corporation (NASDAQ:HFWAGet Free Report) have been assigned a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the six ratings firms that are covering the stock, Marketbeat reports. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and three have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 12-month target price among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $32.50.

Several analysts have recently commented on the company. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Heritage Financial in a research note on Tuesday, July 7th. DA Davidson lifted their target price on Heritage Financial from $32.00 to $34.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, July 24th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Heritage Financial from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, May 16th. Piper Sandler dropped their price objective on Heritage Financial from $34.00 to $32.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 27th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price objective on shares of Heritage Financial from $31.00 to $32.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Monday.

Read Our Latest Stock Report on HFWA

Heritage Financial Trading Down 0.2%

HFWA opened at $29.84 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.17, a current ratio of 0.83 and a quick ratio of 0.81. Heritage Financial has a fifty-two week low of $21.32 and a fifty-two week high of $31.25. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.23 billion, a PE ratio of 14.21 and a beta of 0.49. The company’s 50-day moving average is $28.85 and its 200 day moving average is $27.32.

Heritage Financial (NASDAQ:HFWAGet Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 23rd. The financial services provider reported $0.57 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.44 by $0.13. The business had revenue of $84.13 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $86.30 million. Heritage Financial had a net margin of 20.44% and a return on equity of 8.78%. As a group, research analysts predict that Heritage Financial will post 2.37 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Heritage Financial Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, August 19th. Investors of record on Wednesday, August 5th will be given a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, August 5th. This is an increase from Heritage Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.24. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.4%. Heritage Financial’s payout ratio is 45.71%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Heritage Financial news, CFO Donald Hinson sold 3,842 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $28.37, for a total value of $108,997.54. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 41,241 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,170,007.17. This represents a 8.52% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Company insiders own 1.49% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Heritage Financial

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of HFWA. Jennison Associates LLC increased its position in shares of Heritage Financial by 3.4% during the first quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 3,213,473 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $83,550,000 after acquiring an additional 106,308 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in Heritage Financial by 1.9% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 2,412,325 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $57,051,000 after purchasing an additional 45,422 shares during the period. State Street Corp grew its stake in Heritage Financial by 3.2% in the 4th quarter. State Street Corp now owns 1,573,458 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $37,212,000 after purchasing an additional 48,765 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Heritage Financial by 0.5% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 842,598 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $19,929,000 after purchasing an additional 4,170 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Basswood Capital Management L.L.C. increased its position in shares of Heritage Financial by 163.1% during the 4th quarter. Basswood Capital Management L.L.C. now owns 607,105 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $14,358,000 after purchasing an additional 376,368 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 78.30% of the company’s stock.

Heritage Financial Company Profile

(Get Free Report)

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.

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Analyst Recommendations for Heritage Financial (NASDAQ:HFWA)

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