Brokerages Set Heritage Financial Corporation (NASDAQ:HFWA) Price Target at $30.50

Shares of Heritage Financial Corporation (NASDAQ:HFWA) have earned an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the six research firms that are presently covering the company, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. The average twelve-month price target among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $30.50.

A number of research analysts have recently commented on HFWA shares. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Heritage Financial in a report on Tuesday. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Heritage Financial from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, May 16th. Zacks Research raised shares of Heritage Financial from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, June 26th. Finally, Piper Sandler reduced their target price 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.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Heritage Financial news, CFO Donald Hinson sold 3,842 shares of Heritage Financial stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $28.37, for a total transaction of $108,997.54. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 41,241 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,170,007.17. The trade was a 8.52% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 1.49% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Heritage Financial

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its stake in shares of Heritage Financial by 12.2% during the second quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 6,519 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $193,000 after purchasing an additional 710 shares in the last quarter. Rhino Investment Partners Inc raised its stake in Heritage Financial by 77.7% in the first quarter. Rhino Investment Partners Inc now owns 330,459 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $8,592,000 after buying an additional 144,515 shares in the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC raised its stake in Heritage Financial by 8.9% in the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 166,079 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $4,318,000 after buying an additional 13,564 shares in the last quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP lifted its holdings in Heritage Financial by 29.9% during the first quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP now owns 55,145 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,434,000 after buying an additional 12,685 shares during the period. Finally, Lazard Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in Heritage Financial by 21.7% during the first quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 40,326 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,048,000 after buying an additional 7,197 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 78.30% of the company’s stock.

Heritage Financial Stock Performance

Heritage Financial stock opened at $29.20 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04, a current ratio of 0.81 and a quick ratio of 0.81. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.20 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.31 and a beta of 0.49. Heritage Financial has a 1-year low of $21.32 and a 1-year high of $30.58. The company’s 50-day moving average is $27.96 and its 200 day moving average is $26.74.

Heritage Financial (NASDAQ:HFWA) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 23rd. The financial services provider reported $0.59 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.57 by $0.02. Heritage Financial had a return on equity of 8.71% and a net margin of 20.50%.The company had revenue of $77.92 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $80.31 million. Research analysts forecast that Heritage Financial will post 2.39 EPS for the current year.

Heritage Financial Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, May 20th. Investors of record on Wednesday, May 6th were paid a $0.24 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, May 6th. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.3%. Heritage Financial’s dividend payout ratio is 47.06%.

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.