Heritage Financial (NASDAQ:HFWA) Raised to “Hold” at StockNews.com

StockNews.com upgraded shares of Heritage Financial (NASDAQ:HFWA) from a sell rating to a hold rating in a research report released on Monday morning.

Several other equities analysts also recently issued reports on HFWA. Stephens increased their price objective on shares of Heritage Financial from $24.00 to $26.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 29th. Piper Sandler raised their price target on shares of Heritage Financial from $27.00 to $28.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, October 28th.

Heritage Financial Price Performance

NASDAQ:HFWA opened at $25.48 on Monday. The stock has a market capitalization of $870.14 million, a PE ratio of 23.59 and a beta of 0.57. Heritage Financial has a 52 week low of $16.55 and a 52 week high of $27.58. The company has a quick ratio of 0.82, a current ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $25.09 and its 200-day moving average price is $23.38.

Heritage Financial (NASDAQ:HFWA) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 23rd. The financial services provider reported $0.51 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.45 by $0.06. Heritage Financial had a return on equity of 7.01% and a net margin of 12.27%. As a group, equities analysts expect that Heritage Financial will post 1.76 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Heritage Financial Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, February 20th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, February 6th will be given a $0.24 dividend. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.77%. This is a boost from Heritage Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.23. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, February 6th. Heritage Financial’s dividend payout ratio is 85.19%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Tony Chalfant sold 2,975 shares of Heritage Financial stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, November 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $26.50, for a total transaction of $78,837.50. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 20,119 shares in the company, valued at approximately $533,153.50. This trade represents a 12.88 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Frederick B. Rivera sold 4,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, January 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $25.43, for a total value of $101,720.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 3,844 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $97,752.92. The trade was a 50.99 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.80% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Heritage Financial

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. CWM LLC boosted its holdings in Heritage Financial by 17.1% in the 3rd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 3,297 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $72,000 after purchasing an additional 481 shares during the last quarter. New York State Teachers Retirement System raised its position in shares of Heritage Financial by 9.4% during the 3rd quarter. New York State Teachers Retirement System now owns 5,796 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $126,000 after buying an additional 500 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its holdings in Heritage Financial by 0.4% in the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 123,283 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,684,000 after acquiring an additional 500 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its position in Heritage Financial by 43.7% in the third quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,975 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $43,000 after acquiring an additional 601 shares during the period. Finally, Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. acquired a new stake in Heritage Financial during the second quarter worth $25,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 78.30% of the company’s stock.

Heritage Financial Company Profile

Heritage Financial Corporation operates as the bank holding company for Heritage Bank that provides various financial services to small and medium sized businesses and individuals in the United States. It accepts various deposit products, such as noninterest demand deposits, interest bearing demand deposits, money market accounts, savings accounts, personal checking accounts, and certificates of deposit.