Heritage Financial (NASDAQ:HFWA) Price Target Raised to $32.00

Heritage Financial (NASDAQ:HFWA) had its target price increased by Stephens from $30.00 to $32.00 in a research note published on Tuesday morning, MarketBeat Ratings reports. The brokerage currently has an equal weight rating on the financial services provider’s stock.

A number of other research firms also recently issued reports on HFWA. Zacks Research raised shares of Heritage Financial from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, June 26th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Heritage Financial in a report on Tuesday, July 7th. Piper Sandler dropped their price target on shares of Heritage Financial from $34.00 to $32.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 27th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Heritage Financial from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, May 16th. Finally, DA Davidson boosted their price target on shares of Heritage Financial from $32.00 to $34.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, July 24th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Heritage Financial presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $32.50.

Heritage Financial Stock Down 1.1%

HFWA stock opened at $29.52 on Tuesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.22 billion, a PE ratio of 14.06 and a beta of 0.49. The company has a quick ratio of 0.81, a current ratio of 0.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.17. Heritage Financial has a twelve month low of $21.32 and a twelve month high of $31.25. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $28.90 and its 200-day moving average is $27.36.

Heritage Financial (NASDAQ:HFWA) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 23rd. The financial services provider reported $0.57 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.44 by $0.13. The business had revenue of $84.13 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $86.30 million. Heritage Financial had a return on equity of 8.78% and a net margin of 20.44%. Sell-side analysts expect that Heritage Financial will post 2.37 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Heritage Financial Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, August 19th. Investors of record on Wednesday, August 5th will be issued a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.4%. This is an increase from Heritage Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.24. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, August 5th. Heritage Financial’s dividend payout ratio is 45.71%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Heritage Financial

In other Heritage Financial news, EVP Kelli Ann Wilson sold 3,778 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $29.69, for a total value of $112,168.82. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 3,099 shares in the company, valued at $92,009.31. This represents a 54.94% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CFO Donald Hinson sold 3,842 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $28.37, for a total value of $108,997.54. Following the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 41,241 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,170,007.17. This represents a 8.52% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. 1.49% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Heritage Financial

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC raised its position in Heritage Financial by 27,871.4% in the second quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,958 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $47,000 after acquiring an additional 1,951 shares during the period. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC boosted its stake in Heritage Financial by 99.1% in the second quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 2,875 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $69,000 after acquiring an additional 1,431 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its position in shares of Heritage Financial by 12.2% during the 2nd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 6,519 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $193,000 after acquiring an additional 710 shares during the period. CWM LLC grew its position in shares of Heritage Financial by 7.7% during the 4th quarter. CWM LLC now owns 8,249 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $195,000 after acquiring an additional 592 shares during the period. Finally, BNP Paribas Financial Markets increased its stake in shares of Heritage Financial by 117.1% during the 3rd quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 8,457 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $205,000 after purchasing an additional 4,561 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 78.30% of the company’s stock.

Heritage Financial Company Profile

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.