Insider Selling: Heritage Financial (NASDAQ:HFWA) EVP Sells $50,312.00 in Stock

Heritage Financial Corporation (NASDAQ:HFWA) EVP Kelli Ann Wilson sold 1,900 shares of Heritage Financial stock in a transaction on Monday, January 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $26.48, for a total value of $50,312.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 3,778 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $100,041.44. This trade represents a 33.46% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website.

Heritage Financial Price Performance

HFWA opened at $25.20 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $855.79 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.86 and a beta of 0.52. The company has a current ratio of 0.83, a quick ratio of 0.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05. Heritage Financial Corporation has a 12-month low of $19.84 and a 12-month high of $28.35. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $24.65 and its 200-day simple moving average is $23.97.

Heritage Financial (NASDAQ:HFWA) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 22nd. The financial services provider reported $0.66 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.57 by $0.09. The company had revenue of $66.35 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $65.95 million. Heritage Financial had a net margin of 20.10% and a return on equity of 8.61%. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Heritage Financial Corporation will post 2.09 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Heritage Financial Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, February 11th. Investors of record on Wednesday, January 28th will be given a $0.24 dividend. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, January 28th. Heritage Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 48.98%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Heritage Financial

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Hantz Financial Services Inc. lifted its holdings in Heritage Financial by 316.9% in the 3rd quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 1,651 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $40,000 after purchasing an additional 1,255 shares in the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Heritage Financial by 27,871.4% in the 2nd quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,958 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $47,000 after acquiring an additional 1,951 shares during the last quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC lifted its stake in Heritage Financial by 99.1% in the 2nd quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 2,875 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $69,000 after purchasing an additional 1,431 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Heritage Financial by 53.3% during the 2nd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 4,557 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $109,000 after purchasing an additional 1,585 shares during the last quarter. Finally, CWM LLC grew its position in shares of Heritage Financial by 100.5% in the third quarter. CWM LLC now owns 7,657 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $185,000 after purchasing an additional 3,838 shares in the last quarter. 78.30% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Wall Street Zen raised Heritage Financial from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, November 15th. DA Davidson increased their price target on shares of Heritage Financial from $29.00 to $32.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 23rd. Zacks Research lowered shares of Heritage Financial from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 25th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Heritage Financial in a research note on Thursday, January 22nd. Finally, Stephens boosted their target price on shares of Heritage Financial from $28.00 to $30.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $30.25.

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.