Stephens Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for Heritage Financial (NASDAQ:HFWA) Stock

Heritage Financial (NASDAQ:HFWA) had its target price boosted by Stephens from $28.00 to $30.00 in a note issued to investors on Monday, Marketbeat.com reports. The firm currently has an “equal weight” rating on the financial services provider’s stock. Stephens’ price objective would suggest a potential upside of 15.43% from the company’s current price.

Other analysts also recently issued reports about the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price target on shares of Heritage Financial from $26.00 to $28.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Monday, September 29th. DA Davidson lifted their price target on Heritage Financial from $29.00 to $32.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 23rd. Zacks Research downgraded Heritage Financial from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 25th. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Heritage Financial in a report on Thursday, January 22nd. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised shares of Heritage Financial from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, November 15th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $30.25.

Heritage Financial Stock Performance

NASDAQ:HFWA opened at $25.99 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $882.54 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.26 and a beta of 0.52. The business has a 50 day moving average of $24.59 and a 200 day moving average of $23.96. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05, a current ratio of 0.83 and a quick ratio of 0.84. Heritage Financial has a 1-year low of $19.84 and a 1-year high of $28.35.

Heritage Financial (NASDAQ:HFWA) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 22nd. The financial services provider reported $0.66 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.57 by $0.09. Heritage Financial had a net margin of 20.10% and a return on equity of 8.61%. The firm had revenue of $66.35 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $65.95 million. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Heritage Financial will post 2.09 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Kelli Ann Wilson sold 1,900 shares of Heritage Financial stock in a transaction on Monday, January 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $26.48, for a total transaction of $50,312.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 3,778 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $100,041.44. The trade was a 33.46% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, President Bryan Mcdonald bought 19,106 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, November 20th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $22.32 per share, for a total transaction of $426,445.92. Following the acquisition, the president directly owned 31,363 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $700,022.16. The trade was a 155.88% increase in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this purchase are available in the official SEC disclosure. 1.90% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Heritage Financial

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Brighton Jones LLC lifted its position in shares of Heritage Financial by 3.7% during the 3rd quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 12,452 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $301,000 after acquiring an additional 450 shares during the period. CWM LLC increased its stake in Heritage Financial by 7.7% in the 4th quarter. CWM LLC now owns 8,249 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $195,000 after purchasing an additional 592 shares in the last quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. raised its holdings in Heritage Financial by 4.6% during the first quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 20,060 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $488,000 after purchasing an additional 881 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its holdings in Heritage Financial by 20.8% during the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 5,171 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $122,000 after purchasing an additional 891 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Intech Investment Management LLC boosted its position in Heritage Financial by 2.7% during the third quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 35,891 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $868,000 after purchasing an additional 960 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.