Heritage Financial (NASDAQ:HFWA) Price Target Raised to $34.00 at DA Davidson

Heritage Financial (NASDAQ:HFWA) had its price objective upped by DA Davidson from $32.00 to $34.00 in a research note published on Friday morning,Benzinga reports. They currently have a buy rating on the financial services provider’s stock.

HFWA has been the topic of several other research reports. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Heritage Financial from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, May 16th. Piper Sandler decreased their target price on shares of Heritage Financial from $34.00 to $32.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 27th. Zacks Research raised shares of Heritage Financial from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, June 26th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Heritage Financial in a research report on Tuesday, July 7th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $31.00.

Heritage Financial Price Performance

NASDAQ HFWA opened at $30.16 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.17, a current ratio of 0.83 and a quick ratio of 0.81. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $28.67 and its 200 day moving average price is $27.20. Heritage Financial has a 1 year low of $21.32 and a 1 year high of $31.25. The company has a market cap of $1.24 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.36 and a beta of 0.49.

Heritage Financial (NASDAQ:HFWA) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 23rd. The financial services provider reported $0.57 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.44 by $0.13. The company had revenue of $84.13 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $86.30 million. Heritage Financial had a return on equity of 8.78% and a net margin of 20.44%. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Heritage Financial will post 2.42 earnings per share for the current year.

Heritage Financial Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, August 19th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, August 5th will be issued a dividend of $0.25 per share. This is a positive change from Heritage Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.24. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, August 5th. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.3%. Heritage Financial’s payout ratio is presently 45.71%.

Insider Activity

In related news, CFO Donald Hinson sold 3,842 shares of the business’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 completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 41,241 shares in the company, valued at $1,170,007.17. The trade was a 8.52% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 1.49% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in HFWA. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. boosted its stake in shares of Heritage Financial by 4.6% during the 1st quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 20,060 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $488,000 after acquiring an additional 881 shares in the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC increased its stake in shares of Heritage Financial by 4.2% in the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 123,798 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $3,012,000 after purchasing an additional 4,947 shares in the last quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC raised its holdings in Heritage Financial by 7.4% in the 1st quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 78,130 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,901,000 after purchasing an additional 5,417 shares during the period. Jane Street Group LLC raised its holdings in Heritage Financial by 437.3% in the 1st quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 107,482 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,615,000 after purchasing an additional 87,479 shares during the period. Finally, EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its position in Heritage Financial by 27,871.4% during the second quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,958 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $47,000 after purchasing an additional 1,951 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors 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.