Heritage Financial Co. (NASDAQ:HFWA) Given Consensus Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by Brokerages

Heritage Financial Co. (NASDAQ:HFWA) has been given an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by the four brokerages that are presently covering the firm, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and two have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1-year price target among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $25.00.

HFWA has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Stephens increased their target price on Heritage Financial from $24.00 to $26.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 29th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price target on Heritage Financial from $20.00 to $23.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Friday, July 26th. Finally, Piper Sandler raised their price target on Heritage Financial from $27.00 to $28.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, October 28th.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Tony Chalfant sold 2,975 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, November 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $26.50, for a total value of $78,837.50. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 20,119 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $533,153.50. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Corporate insiders own 1.80% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Heritage Financial

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its stake in shares of Heritage Financial by 133.7% during the 2nd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,374 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 786 shares during the last quarter. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. bought a new stake in shares of Heritage Financial during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $25,000. Innealta Capital LLC bought a new stake in shares of Heritage Financial during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $27,000. Point72 DIFC Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Heritage Financial during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $27,000. Finally, Meeder Asset Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Heritage Financial during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $31,000. 78.30% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Heritage Financial Stock Performance

NASDAQ:HFWA opened at $26.39 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 0.82, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46. Heritage Financial has a 12-month low of $16.41 and a 12-month high of $27.55. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $22.44 and a 200 day moving average price of $20.56. The stock has a market capitalization of $910.46 million, a P/E ratio of 24.44 and a beta of 0.52.

Heritage Financial (NASDAQ:HFWA) last released its earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The financial services provider reported $0.33 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.42 by ($0.09). Heritage Financial had a return on equity of 7.01% and a net margin of 12.27%. The business had revenue of $81.65 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $58.17 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.51 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that Heritage Financial will post 1.65 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Heritage Financial Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 20th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, November 6th will be paid a $0.23 dividend. This represents a $0.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.49%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, November 6th. Heritage Financial’s payout ratio is 85.19%.

Heritage Financial Company Profile

Heritage Financial Corporation operates as the bank holding company for Heritage Bank that provides various financial services to small and medium sized businesses and individuals in the United States. It accepts various deposit products, such as noninterest demand deposits, interest bearing demand deposits, money market accounts, savings accounts, personal checking accounts, and certificates of deposit.