Heritage Financial Corporation (NASDAQ:HFWA) Stock Has Average Price Target of $32.67

Shares of Heritage Financial Corporation (NASDAQ:HFWA) have been given a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by the eight brokerages that are currently covering the company, Marketbeat.com reports. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. The average 1 year target price among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $32.67.

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on HFWA. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price target on shares of Heritage Financial from $31.00 to $32.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Monday, July 27th. Raymond James Financial reiterated a “market perform” rating on shares of Heritage Financial in a report on Thursday, October 22nd. DA Davidson raised their target price on Heritage Financial from $32.00 to $34.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, July 24th. Brean Capital upgraded Heritage Financial from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $33.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, September 22nd. Finally, Zacks Research raised shares of Heritage Financial from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, October 22nd.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Matthew T. Ray sold 3,692 shares of Heritage Financial stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $30.10, for a total value of $111,129.20. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 22,735 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $684,323.50. The trade was a 13.97% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Frederick B. Rivera sold 1,300 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $28.57, for a total transaction of $37,141.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 5,890 shares in the company, valued at $168,277.30. This trade represents a 18.08% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Company insiders own 1.49% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of HFWA. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new position in Heritage Financial during the 2nd quarter valued at about $172,125,000. Basswood Capital Management L.L.C. acquired a new stake in shares of Heritage Financial in the second quarter valued at approximately $20,408,000. Algebris UK Ltd. acquired a new position in shares of Heritage Financial during the second quarter worth about $13,860,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp bought a new position in shares of Heritage Financial in the second quarter worth $11,817,000. Finally, The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company acquired a new stake in shares of Heritage Financial during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $9,142,000. 78.30% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Heritage Financial Price Performance

Heritage Financial stock opened at $28.39 on Friday. Heritage Financial has a 12 month low of $21.32 and a 12 month high of $31.25. The company has a current ratio of 0.83, a quick ratio of 0.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13. The company has a market capitalization of $1.16 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.12 and a beta of 0.53. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $28.25 and its 200-day moving average is $27.87.

Heritage Financial (NASDAQ:HFWA) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 22nd. The financial services provider reported $0.55 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.50 by $0.05. Heritage Financial had a net margin of 19.24% and a return on equity of 8.70%. The company had revenue of $86.51 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $86.11 million. Equities research analysts expect that Heritage Financial will post 2.32 EPS for the current year.

Heritage Financial Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 18th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, November 4th will be issued a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, November 4th. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.5%. Heritage Financial’s payout ratio is 49.75%.

Heritage Financial Company Profile

Heritage Financial Corporation (NASDAQ: HFWA) is a bank holding company headquartered in Olympia, Washington. The company operates primarily through Heritage Bank, a community-focused financial institution serving businesses, individuals and organizations in Washington and Oregon.

Heritage Bank provides commercial and residential real estate lending, business and consumer loans, deposit accounts, cash-management and treasury services, online and mobile banking, and other traditional banking products.