Keefe, Bruyette & Woods Issues Pessimistic Forecast for Heritage Financial (NASDAQ:HFWA) Stock Price

Heritage Financial (NASDAQ:HFWA) had its price target reduced by analysts at Keefe, Bruyette & Woods from $27.00 to $26.00 in a research report issued to clients and investors on Monday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a “market perform” rating on the financial services provider’s stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods’ price target indicates a potential upside of 15.10% from the company’s current price.

Separately, StockNews.com raised Heritage Financial from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, January 27th.

Heritage Financial Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ HFWA traded down $0.01 during trading on Monday, reaching $22.59. 63,713 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 209,684. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $23.27 and a 200-day simple moving average of $24.22. Heritage Financial has a 52-week low of $16.55 and a 52-week high of $27.58. The stock has a market capitalization of $767.86 million, a PE ratio of 18.22 and a beta of 0.47. The company has a quick ratio of 0.82, a current ratio of 0.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47.

Heritage Financial (NASDAQ:HFWA) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The financial services provider reported $0.49 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.46 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $57.59 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $61.74 million. Heritage Financial had a net margin of 13.64% and a return on equity of 7.17%. Equities research analysts anticipate that Heritage Financial will post 2.09 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Heritage Financial

In other news, CFO Donald Hinson sold 3,420 shares of Heritage Financial stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $23.59, for a total transaction of $80,677.80. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 42,087 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $992,832.33. The trade was a 7.52 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Jeffrey J. Deuel sold 7,033 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $23.66, for a total transaction of $166,400.78. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 70,906 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,677,635.96. This represents a 9.02 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 11,311 shares of company stock worth $267,473 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 1.80% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Heritage Financial

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Jennison Associates LLC raised its holdings in Heritage Financial by 26.7% during the fourth quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 2,206,766 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $54,066,000 after acquiring an additional 465,708 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. grew its position in shares of Heritage Financial by 112.5% during the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 369,429 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $9,051,000 after purchasing an additional 195,541 shares in the last quarter. Deprince Race & Zollo Inc. bought a new stake in Heritage Financial during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $3,755,000. Russell Investments Group Ltd. lifted its holdings in Heritage Financial by 357.0% in the 4th quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 143,913 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $3,526,000 after purchasing an additional 112,419 shares in the last quarter. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its stake in Heritage Financial by 83.3% in the 4th quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 225,948 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $5,536,000 after purchasing an additional 102,665 shares during the period. 78.30% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.