Heritage Financial Corporation (NASDAQ:HFWA) Given Average Rating of “Hold” by Brokerages

Heritage Financial Corporation (NASDAQ:HFWA) has earned an average recommendation of “Hold” from the six analysts that are covering the stock, MarketBeat.com reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, two have assigned a hold recommendation and three have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 1-year price target among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $30.50.

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on HFWA shares. DA Davidson boosted their price target on 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 decreased their price target 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. Stephens boosted their price target on Heritage Financial from $28.00 to $30.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, January 26th. Zacks Research lowered Heritage Financial from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised Heritage Financial from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Heritage Financial

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of HFWA. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. boosted its stake in shares of Heritage Financial by 4.6% during the 1st quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 20,060 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $488,000 after acquiring an additional 881 shares in the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC raised its position in shares of Heritage Financial by 4.2% during the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 123,798 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $3,012,000 after purchasing an additional 4,947 shares during the last quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC raised its position in shares of Heritage Financial by 7.4% during the 1st quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 78,130 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,901,000 after purchasing an additional 5,417 shares during the last quarter. Jane Street Group LLC raised its position in shares of Heritage Financial by 437.3% during the 1st quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 107,482 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,615,000 after purchasing an additional 87,479 shares during the last quarter. Finally, EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Heritage Financial by 27,871.4% during the 2nd quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,958 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $47,000 after purchasing an additional 1,951 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 78.30% of the company’s stock.

Heritage Financial Price Performance

Shares of HFWA opened at $26.03 on Friday. Heritage Financial has a twelve month low of $21.32 and a twelve month high of $28.98. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $26.37 and its two-hundred day moving average is $25.43. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.07 billion, a PE ratio of 12.76 and a beta of 0.50. The company has a current ratio of 0.81, a quick ratio of 0.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04.

Heritage Financial (NASDAQ:HFWA) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 23rd. The financial services provider reported $0.59 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.57 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $77.92 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $80.31 million. Heritage Financial had a return on equity of 8.71% and a net margin of 20.50%. Research analysts anticipate that Heritage Financial will post 2.39 earnings per share for the current year.

Heritage Financial Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 20th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, May 6th will be paid a dividend of $0.24 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, May 6th. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.7%. Heritage Financial’s payout ratio is 47.06%.

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.