Heritage Financial (NASDAQ:HFWA) Downgraded by Zacks Research to “Strong Sell”

Zacks Research cut shares of Heritage Financial (NASDAQ:HFWA) from a hold rating to a strong sell rating in a research note released on Thursday,Zacks.com reports.

Several other analysts have also issued reports on HFWA. DA Davidson boosted their target price on Heritage Financial from $29.00 to $32.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 23rd. Weiss Ratings upgraded Heritage Financial from a “hold (c)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research note on Monday, March 2nd. Piper Sandler lowered their target price on Heritage Financial from $34.00 to $32.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday. Stephens boosted their target price on Heritage Financial from $28.00 to $30.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, January 26th. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered Heritage Financial from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Saturday. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $30.50.

Heritage Financial Stock Performance

Heritage Financial stock traded up $0.09 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $27.61. 151,013 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 255,640. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $26.38 and its 200 day simple moving average is $25.16. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.14 billion, a PE ratio of 13.53 and a beta of 0.50. Heritage Financial has a one year low of $21.32 and a one year high of $28.98. The company has a quick ratio of 0.83, a current ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04.

Heritage Financial (NASDAQ:HFWA) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 23rd. The financial services provider reported $0.59 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.57 by $0.02. The business 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%. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Heritage Financial will post 2.39 earnings per share for the current year.

Heritage Financial Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 20th. Investors of record on Wednesday, May 6th will be paid a dividend of $0.24 per share. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.5%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, May 6th. Heritage Financial’s payout ratio is presently 47.06%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Frederick B. Rivera sold 1,800 shares of the business’s 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 sale, the director directly owned 4,972 shares in the company, valued at approximately $130,813.32. The trade was a 26.58% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Tony Chalfant sold 4,668 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $27.65, for a total value of $129,070.20. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 19,870 shares in the company, valued at approximately $549,405.50. The trade was a 19.02% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders own 1.49% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Heritage Financial

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in HFWA. Algebris UK Ltd. purchased a new position in shares of Heritage Financial in the 3rd quarter worth about $10,775,000. Deprince Race & Zollo Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Heritage Financial by 71.4% in the 4th quarter. Deprince Race & Zollo Inc. now owns 120,867 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,859,000 after purchasing an additional 50,353 shares in the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of 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. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH boosted its holdings in shares of Heritage Financial by 112.5% in the 3rd quarter. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH now owns 58,043 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,404,000 after purchasing an additional 30,725 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Jennison Associates LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Heritage Financial by 0.9% in the 4th quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 3,107,165 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $73,484,000 after purchasing an additional 27,143 shares in the last quarter. 78.30% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other 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.