Heritage Financial (NASDAQ:HFWA) Downgraded by Wall Street Zen to Sell

Key Points

• Heritage Financial was downgraded from a "hold" to a "sell" rating by Wall Street Zen, indicating a significant shift in analyst sentiment.
• Research analysts Keefe, Bruyette & Woods and Piper Sandler updated their target prices for Heritage Financial from $27.00 to $26.00 and from $34.00 to $31.00, respectively, reflecting a cautious outlook on the company's performance.
• Despite having a positive earnings report, with $0.53 earnings per share surpassing estimates, Heritage Financial's revenue fell short of expectations at $56.50 million compared to the projected $63.54 million.

Heritage Financial (NASDAQ:HFWA - Get Free Report) was downgraded by equities researchers at Wall Street Zen from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report released on Saturday.

Several other research analysts have also weighed in on the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their target price on Heritage Financial from $27.00 to $26.00 and set a "market perform" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 28th. Piper Sandler cut their target price on Heritage Financial from $34.00 to $31.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 28th.

Heritage Financial Trading Up 0.8%

Shares of HFWA opened at $23.44 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.85, a quick ratio of 0.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32. The firm has a market capitalization of $799.54 million, a P/E ratio of 16.39 and a beta of 0.54. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $23.95 and its 200 day simple moving average is $23.82. Heritage Financial has a twelve month low of $19.84 and a twelve month high of $27.58.

Heritage Financial (NASDAQ:HFWA - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, July 24th. The financial services provider reported $0.53 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.50 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $56.50 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $63.54 million. Heritage Financial had a return on equity of 7.34% and a net margin of 15.22%. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Heritage Financial will post 2.09 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Trading of Heritage Financial

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Sterling Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in Heritage Financial by 794.1% in the 4th quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC now owns 1,064 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 945 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its holdings in Heritage Financial by 45.3% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,972 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $72,000 after purchasing an additional 927 shares in the last quarter. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. grew its stake in shares of Heritage Financial by 519.0% during the fourth quarter. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. now owns 3,553 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $87,000 after acquiring an additional 2,979 shares in the last quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio grew its stake in shares of Heritage Financial by 475.6% during the fourth quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio now owns 3,989 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $98,000 after acquiring an additional 3,296 shares in the last quarter. Finally, CWM LLC grew its stake in shares of Heritage Financial by 14.8% during the first quarter. CWM LLC now owns 4,042 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $98,000 after acquiring an additional 520 shares in the last quarter. 78.30% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.

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