Heritage Financial (NASDAQ:HFWA) Hits New 1-Year High – Here’s Why

Heritage Financial Corporation (NASDAQ:HFWA)’s share price hit a new 52-week high on Thursday . The stock traded as high as $28.99 and last traded at $28.86, with a volume of 5449 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $28.34.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have recently weighed in on HFWA shares. Piper Sandler decreased their target price on shares of Heritage Financial from $34.00 to $32.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 27th. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Heritage Financial from a “hold (c)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a report on Monday, March 2nd. Zacks Research downgraded shares of Heritage Financial from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Thursday, April 30th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised shares of Heritage Financial from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, May 16th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Heritage Financial currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $30.50.

Heritage Financial Stock Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04, a current ratio of 0.81 and a quick ratio of 0.81. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.18 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.01 and a beta of 0.49. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $27.14 and its two-hundred day moving average is $26.08.

Heritage Financial (NASDAQ:HFWA) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 23rd. The financial services provider reported $0.59 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.57 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $77.92 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $80.31 million. Heritage Financial had a net margin of 20.50% and a return on equity of 8.71%. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Heritage Financial Corporation will post 2.39 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Heritage Financial Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, May 20th. Investors of record on Wednesday, May 6th were paid a dividend of $0.24 per share. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, May 6th. Heritage Financial’s payout ratio is 47.06%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Heritage Financial

In related news, CFO Donald Hinson sold 3,842 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $28.37, for a total transaction 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 $1,170,007.17. The trade was a 8.52% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 1.49% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Heritage Financial

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Hantz Financial Services Inc. raised its stake in shares of Heritage Financial by 316.9% during the third quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 1,651 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $40,000 after buying an additional 1,255 shares during the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Heritage Financial by 27,871.4% during the second quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,958 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $47,000 after purchasing an additional 1,951 shares during the period. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC grew its holdings in 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 valued at $69,000 after purchasing an additional 1,431 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its holdings in Heritage Financial by 20.8% during the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 5,171 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $122,000 after purchasing an additional 891 shares during the period. Finally, CWM LLC grew its holdings in Heritage Financial by 7.7% during the fourth quarter. CWM LLC now owns 8,249 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $195,000 after purchasing an additional 592 shares during the period. 78.30% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.