Heritage Financial Corporation (NASDAQ:HFWA) Stock Rated "Hold" by Wall Street Analysts

Key Points

• Analysts rate Heritage Financial “Hold” on average: Seven analysts provide a mixed outlook, with four buys, two holds and one sell. The average 12-month price target is $32.67 versus the reported share price of $27.24.
• Quarterly earnings exceeded expectations: Heritage Financial reported earnings per share of $0.57, beating the $0.44 consensus estimate, while revenue of $84.12 million fell short of the $86.30 million forecast.
• The company increased its dividend: The quarterly payout rose to $0.25 from $0.24, representing a $1.00 annualized dividend and a 3.7% yield. Institutional investors own 78.3% of the stock, while insiders have sold shares in recent months.

Heritage Financial Corporation (NASDAQ:HFWA - Get Free Report) has received an average rating of "Hold" from the seven research firms that are presently covering the stock, Marketbeat Ratings reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. The average 1-year price objective among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $32.67.

Several research analysts have commented on the company. Stephens lifted their price target on Heritage Financial from $30.00 to $32.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 28th. Brean Capital upgraded Heritage Financial from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $33.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Tuesday, September 22nd. Weiss Ratings reissued a "buy (b)" rating on shares of Heritage Financial in a report on Friday, October 2nd. DA Davidson raised their target price on shares of Heritage Financial from $32.00 to $34.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, July 24th. Finally, Zacks Research lowered shares of Heritage Financial from a "hold" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 23rd.

Heritage Financial Stock Performance

NASDAQ HFWA opened at $27.24 on Tuesday. The company has a fifty day moving average of $28.66 and a two-hundred day moving average of $28.25. The company has a market capitalization of $1.11 billion, a PE ratio of 12.97 and a beta of 0.50. Heritage Financial has a 1 year low of $21.32 and a 1 year high of $31.25. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.17, a current ratio of 0.83 and a quick ratio of 0.83.

Heritage Financial (NASDAQ:HFWA - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, July 23rd. The financial services provider reported $0.57 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.44 by $0.13. The business had revenue of $84.12 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $86.30 million. Heritage Financial had a return on equity of 8.78% and a net margin of 20.44%. As a group, analysts expect that Heritage Financial will post 2.34 earnings per share for the current year.

Heritage Financial Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, August 19th. Investors of record on Wednesday, August 5th were given a $0.25 dividend. This is a positive change from Heritage Financial's previous quarterly dividend of $0.24. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, August 5th. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.7%. Heritage Financial's payout ratio is currently 47.62%.

Insider Activity

In other Heritage Financial news, EVP Tony Chalfant sold 3,234 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $29.92, for a total transaction of $96,761.28. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 20,362 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $609,231.04. This trade represents a 13.71% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Kelli Wilson sold 3,778 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $29.69, for a total transaction of $112,168.82. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 3,099 shares of the company's stock, valued at $92,009.31. This trade represents a 54.94% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold 22,004 shares of company stock worth $657,200 over the last 90 days. 1.49% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Heritage Financial

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in HFWA. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Heritage Financial in 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 worth $83,550,000 after purchasing an additional 106,308 shares during the period. Basswood Capital Management L.L.C. purchased a new position in Heritage Financial in the 2nd quarter valued at $20,408,000. Algebris UK Ltd. purchased a new position in Heritage Financial in the 2nd quarter valued at $13,860,000. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp purchased a new position in Heritage Financial in the 2nd quarter valued at $11,817,000. 78.30% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Heritage Financial Company Profile

Heritage Financial Corporation is a bank holding company headquartered in Olympia, Washington. Through its principal subsidiary, Heritage Bank, the company provides a range of banking services to individuals, businesses and organizations in the Pacific Northwest.

Heritage Bank offers commercial and consumer deposit accounts, business and residential real estate lending, commercial loans, construction financing, consumer loans, treasury management and other financial services. The bank serves clients through a network of branches and digital banking channels, with operations concentrated in Washington and Oregon.

Heritage Financial traces its roots to Heritage Bank, which was established in 1927.

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.