Heritage Financial (NASDAQ:HFWA) Upgraded at Wall Street Zen

by · The Markets Daily

Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Heritage Financial (NASDAQ:HFWAFree Report) from a sell rating to a hold rating in a research note published on Saturday morning.

Several other research firms also recently issued reports on HFWA. Piper Sandler dropped their price objective on shares of Heritage Financial from $35.00 to $34.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 2nd. Stephens boosted their price objective on shares of Heritage Financial from $28.00 to $30.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, January 26th. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Heritage Financial from a “hold (c)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a report on Monday, March 2nd. Finally, DA Davidson boosted their price objective on shares of Heritage Financial from $29.00 to $32.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 23rd. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $31.00.

Read Our Latest Report on Heritage Financial

Heritage Financial Stock Performance

NASDAQ:HFWA opened at $26.47 on Friday. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $26.37 and its 200-day moving average is $24.79. Heritage Financial has a 52-week low of $19.84 and a 52-week high of $28.98. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05, a quick ratio of 0.83 and a current ratio of 0.83. The company has a market cap of $1.09 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.51 and a beta of 0.49.

Heritage Financial (NASDAQ:HFWAGet Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 22nd. The financial services provider reported $0.66 earnings per share (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 company had revenue of $66.35 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $65.95 million. Equities research analysts anticipate that Heritage Financial will post 2.09 earnings per share for the current year.

Heritage Financial Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, February 11th. Investors of record on Wednesday, January 28th were paid a $0.24 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, January 28th. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.6%. Heritage Financial’s payout ratio is presently 48.98%.

Insider Activity at Heritage Financial

In related news, EVP Tony Chalfant sold 4,668 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $27.65, for a total value of $129,070.20. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 19,870 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $549,405.50. The trade was a 19.02% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Kelli Ann Wilson sold 1,900 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 in the company, valued at approximately $100,041.44. The trade was a 33.46% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold a total of 8,368 shares of company stock valued at $226,740 over the last quarter. 1.80% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Heritage Financial

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Hantz Financial Services Inc. boosted its position in Heritage Financial by 316.9% in the third quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 1,651 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $40,000 after buying an additional 1,255 shares in the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC boosted 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 valued at $47,000 after buying an additional 1,951 shares in the last quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC boosted its position 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 buying an additional 1,431 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its position in Heritage Financial by 20.8% in the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 5,171 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $122,000 after buying an additional 891 shares in the last quarter. Finally, CWM LLC boosted its position in Heritage Financial by 100.5% in the third quarter. CWM LLC now owns 7,657 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $185,000 after buying an additional 3,838 shares in the last quarter. 78.30% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Heritage Financial Company Profile

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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.

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