Heritage Financial Corporation (NASDAQ:HFWA) Given Average Rating of "Moderate Buy" by Analysts

Key Points

• Analysts give Heritage Financial a “Moderate Buy” consensus, split evenly between three buy and three hold ratings, with an average 12-month price target of $32.50.
• The company reported quarterly EPS of $0.57, beating estimates of $0.44, while revenue of $84.12 million fell short of expectations. Heritage also increased its quarterly dividend to $0.25 per share, implying a 3.6% yield.
• Institutional investors own 78.3% of the stock, including new stakes from BlackRock and other major firms, while insiders sold 22,004 shares worth approximately $657,200 over the past 90 days.

Shares of Heritage Financial Corporation (NASDAQ:HFWA - Get Free Report) have earned a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" from the six ratings firms that are covering the firm, Marketbeat.com reports. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 12-month target price among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $32.50.

A number of research firms have weighed in on HFWA. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "buy (b)" rating on shares of Heritage Financial in a report on Tuesday, July 7th. Zacks Research upgraded Heritage Financial from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, June 26th. DA Davidson raised their price target on Heritage Financial from $32.00 to $34.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, July 24th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their target price on shares of Heritage Financial from $31.00 to $32.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a research report on Monday, July 27th. Finally, Stephens lifted their price objective on shares of Heritage Financial from $30.00 to $32.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 28th.

Heritage Financial Price Performance

HFWA opened at $28.09 on Friday. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $29.41 and a 200-day moving average price of $27.95. Heritage Financial has a twelve month low of $21.32 and a twelve month high of $31.25. The company has a quick ratio of 0.83, a current ratio of 0.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.17. The company has a market capitalization of $1.15 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.38 and a beta of 0.48.

Heritage Financial (NASDAQ:HFWA - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 23rd. The financial services provider reported $0.57 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.44 by $0.13. The business had revenue of $84.12 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $86.30 million. Heritage Financial had a net margin of 20.44% and a return on equity of 8.78%. Equities analysts expect that Heritage Financial will post 2.37 EPS for the current year.

Heritage Financial Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, August 19th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, August 5th were given a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, August 5th. This is a positive change from Heritage Financial's previous quarterly dividend of $0.24. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.6%. Heritage Financial's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 47.62%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Kelli Wilson sold 3,778 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $29.69, for a total value of $112,168.82. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 3,099 shares in the company, valued at approximately $92,009.31. This trade represents a 54.94% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Frederick Rivera sold 1,300 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $28.57, for a total transaction of $37,141.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 5,890 shares in the company, valued at $168,277.30. The trade was a 18.08% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 22,004 shares of company stock worth $657,200. 1.49% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Heritage Financial

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. BlackRock Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Heritage Financial during the second quarter valued at approximately $172,125,000. Jennison Associates LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Heritage Financial by 3.4% during the first quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 3,213,473 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $83,550,000 after purchasing an additional 106,308 shares during the last quarter. Basswood Capital Management L.L.C. bought a new position in Heritage Financial during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $20,408,000. Algebris UK Ltd. bought a new stake in Heritage Financial in the second quarter worth $13,860,000. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp purchased a new position in shares of Heritage Financial in the 2nd quarter worth about $11,817,000. 78.30% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Heritage Financial Company Profile

Heritage Financial Corporation NASDAQ: HFWA is a bank holding company headquartered in Olympia, Washington. Through its principal subsidiary, Heritage Bank, the company provides a range of banking and financial services to businesses, individuals, and organizations in communities across Washington and Oregon.

Heritage Bank's offerings include commercial and industrial lending, commercial real estate and construction loans, residential real estate financing, consumer loans, deposit accounts, cash-management services, online and mobile banking, and other treasury-management solutions.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.