Heritage Financial (NASDAQ:HFWA) Downgraded by Zacks Research to Strong Sell

Key Points

• Zacks Research downgraded Heritage Financial (NASDAQ:HFWA) from a "hold" to a "strong sell" in a report published Thursday.
• Analyst views are mixed—three Buys, two Holds and one Sell—resulting in a MarketBeat consensus rating of "Hold" and a $30.50 average price target while the stock trades around $27.61 with a $1.14 billion market cap.
• Heritage beat Q1 EPS estimates ($0.59 vs. $0.57) but missed revenue expectations ($77.92M vs. $80.31M), and recent insider selling has reduced insider ownership to about 1.49%.

Heritage Financial (NASDAQ:HFWA - Get Free Report) was downgraded by stock analysts at Zacks Research from a "hold" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a research report issued on Thursday,Zacks.com reports.

A number of other brokerages also recently weighed in on HFWA. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Heritage Financial from a "hold (c)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a research report on Monday, March 2nd. Stephens increased their price objective on shares of Heritage Financial from $28.00 to $30.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Monday, January 26th. DA Davidson increased their price objective on shares of Heritage Financial from $29.00 to $32.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, January 23rd. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Heritage Financial from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Saturday. Finally, Piper Sandler lowered their price objective on Heritage Financial from $34.00 to $32.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Monday. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Heritage Financial presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $30.50.

Heritage Financial Trading Up 0.3%

Heritage Financial stock opened at $27.61 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $1.14 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.53 and a beta of 0.50. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $26.38 and a 200 day moving average price of $25.16. Heritage Financial has a 52 week low of $21.32 and a 52 week high of $28.98. The company has a quick ratio of 0.83, a current ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04.

Heritage Financial (NASDAQ:HFWA - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, April 23rd. The financial services provider reported $0.59 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.57 by $0.02. Heritage Financial had a net margin of 20.50% and a return on equity of 8.71%. The company had revenue of $77.92 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $80.31 million. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Heritage Financial will post 2.39 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Frederick B. Rivera sold 1,800 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $26.31, for a total transaction of $47,358.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 4,972 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $130,813.32. This represents a 26.58% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Tony Chalfant sold 4,668 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $27.65, for a total transaction of $129,070.20. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 19,870 shares of the company's stock, valued at $549,405.50. This trade represents a 19.02% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. 1.49% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Heritage Financial

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Hantz Financial Services Inc. boosted its position in shares of Heritage Financial by 316.9% during the third quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 1,651 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $40,000 after buying an additional 1,255 shares during the period. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Heritage Financial by 27,871.4% during the second quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,958 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $47,000 after buying an additional 1,951 shares during the period. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC boosted its position in shares of Heritage Financial by 99.1% during the second quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 2,875 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $69,000 after buying an additional 1,431 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its position in shares of Heritage Financial by 20.8% during the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 5,171 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $122,000 after buying an additional 891 shares during the period. Finally, CWM LLC lifted its holdings in Heritage Financial by 100.5% in the third quarter. CWM LLC now owns 7,657 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $185,000 after purchasing an additional 3,838 shares during the period. 78.30% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Heritage Financial Company Profile

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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