Heritage Financial (NASDAQ:HFWA) Sets New 52-Week High – What’s Next?

Heritage Financial Corporation (NASDAQ:HFWA)’s share price reached a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Thursday . The stock traded as high as $26.08 and last traded at $25.97, with a volume of 165616 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $25.67.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Heritage Financial in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Zacks Research downgraded Heritage Financial from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 25th. DA Davidson set a $29.00 price target on Heritage Financial in a report on Monday, September 29th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Heritage Financial from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, November 15th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their target price on Heritage Financial from $26.00 to $28.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Monday, September 29th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Heritage Financial presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $29.33.

Heritage Financial Trading Down 3.7%

The stock has a market cap of $845.33 million, a P/E ratio of 15.09 and a beta of 0.52. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $23.39 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $23.79. The company has a quick ratio of 0.84, a current ratio of 0.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18.

Heritage Financial (NASDAQ:HFWA) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 23rd. The financial services provider reported $0.56 EPS for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.56. The business had revenue of $65.70 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $65.25 million. Heritage Financial had a net margin of 17.27% and a return on equity of 8.21%. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Heritage Financial Corporation will post 2.09 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Heritage Financial Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, November 19th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, November 5th were given a dividend of $0.24 per share. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.9%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, November 5th. Heritage Financial’s payout ratio is 58.18%.

Insider Activity

In other news, President Bryan Mcdonald bought 19,106 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, November 20th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $22.32 per share, with a total value of $426,445.92. Following the completion of the purchase, the president directly owned 31,363 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $700,022.16. This represents a 155.88% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Insiders own 1.80% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Heritage Financial

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Penn Capital Management Company LLC boosted its stake in Heritage Financial by 9.5% in the 3rd quarter. Penn Capital Management Company LLC now owns 26,245 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $635,000 after purchasing an additional 2,271 shares during the period. Verition Fund Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Heritage Financial in the third quarter valued at $210,000. Millennium Management LLC raised its position in Heritage Financial by 7.2% during the third quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 15,700 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $380,000 after buying an additional 1,052 shares during the period. Citadel Advisors LLC raised its position in Heritage Financial by 145.1% during the third quarter. Citadel Advisors LLC now owns 12,540 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $303,000 after buying an additional 40,340 shares during the period. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE lifted its stake in Heritage Financial by 19.5% in the 3rd quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 215,732 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $5,219,000 after acquiring an additional 35,151 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 78.30% of the company’s stock.

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.