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

Shares of Heritage Financial Corporation (NASDAQ:HFWA) have been given a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” by the six research firms that are covering the company, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and three have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 1 year price objective among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $31.00.

HFWA has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Stephens upped their price target on shares of Heritage Financial from $28.00 to $30.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, January 26th. Weiss Ratings raised Heritage Financial from a “hold (c)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research note on Monday, March 2nd. DA Davidson lifted their target price on Heritage Financial from $29.00 to $32.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 23rd. Piper Sandler dropped their price target on Heritage Financial from $35.00 to $34.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 2nd. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded Heritage Financial from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, April 4th.

Heritage Financial Stock Performance

NASDAQ:HFWA opened at $27.47 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05, a quick ratio of 0.83 and a current ratio of 0.83. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $26.49 and its 200 day moving average is $24.98. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.13 billion, a PE ratio of 14.07 and a beta of 0.49. Heritage Financial has a fifty-two week low of $21.32 and a fifty-two week high of $28.98.

Heritage Financial (NASDAQ:HFWA) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 22nd. The financial services provider reported $0.66 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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 company had revenue of $66.35 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $65.95 million. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Heritage Financial will post 2.53 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Heritage Financial

In related news, Director Frederick B. Rivera sold 1,800 shares of Heritage Financial stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $26.31, for a total transaction of $47,358.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 4,972 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $130,813.32. This trade represents a 26.58% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Kelli Ann Wilson sold 1,900 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, January 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $26.48, for a total transaction of $50,312.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 3,778 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $100,041.44. This trade represents a 33.46% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 8,368 shares of company stock valued at $226,740. Company insiders own 1.49% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Heritage Financial

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Jennison Associates LLC raised its stake in shares of Heritage Financial by 0.9% during the 4th quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 3,107,165 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $73,484,000 after acquiring an additional 27,143 shares in the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. boosted its stake in Heritage Financial by 9.2% in the 3rd quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 2,626,334 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $63,531,000 after purchasing an additional 220,273 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in Heritage Financial by 1.9% during 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 in the last quarter. State Street Corp lifted its stake in shares of Heritage Financial by 3.2% during the fourth quarter. State Street Corp now owns 1,573,458 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $37,212,000 after buying an additional 48,765 shares during the period. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Heritage Financial by 0.5% in 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 acquiring an additional 4,170 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 78.30% of the company’s stock.

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.