Heritage Financial (NASDAQ:HFWA) EVP Sells $111,129.20 in Stock

Key Points

• Executive sale: Heritage Financial EVP Matthew Ray sold 3,692 shares for approximately $111,129 at $30.10 per share, reducing his direct holdings by 13.97% to 22,735 shares.
• Business performance: Shares rose 0.8% to $30.03, while quarterly EPS of $0.57 exceeded analyst estimates of $0.44. Revenue was $84.12 million, below the $86.30 million consensus forecast.
• Dividend and outlook: Heritage Financial increased its quarterly dividend to $0.25, equivalent to a 3.3% annual yield. Analysts maintain a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating with an average price target of $32.50.

Heritage Financial Corporation (NASDAQ:HFWA - Get Free Report) EVP Matthew Ray sold 3,692 shares of Heritage Financial stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $30.10, for a total transaction of $111,129.20. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 22,735 shares of the company's stock, valued at $684,323.50. This trade represents a 13.97% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website.

Heritage Financial Stock Up 0.8%

Shares of Heritage Financial stock traded up $0.24 on Thursday, hitting $30.03. 65,613 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 317,403. Heritage Financial Corporation has a 12-month low of $21.32 and a 12-month high of $31.25. The company has a quick ratio of 0.81, a current ratio of 0.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.17. The company has a market cap of $1.23 billion, a PE ratio of 14.29 and a beta of 0.50. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $29.37 and a 200 day moving average price of $27.64.

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 (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.44 by $0.13. Heritage Financial had a return on equity of 8.78% and a net margin of 20.44%.The firm had revenue of $84.12 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $86.30 million. Sell-side analysts predict that Heritage Financial Corporation will post 2.37 earnings per share for the current year.

Heritage Financial Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, August 19th. Investors of record on Wednesday, August 5th will be paid a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, August 5th. This is a positive change from Heritage Financial's previous quarterly dividend of $0.24. Heritage Financial's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 47.62%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Heritage Financial

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund boosted its position in shares of Heritage Financial by 2.9% in the 1st quarter. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund now owns 18,381 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $478,000 after purchasing an additional 514 shares during the last quarter. CWM LLC increased its holdings in Heritage Financial by 7.7% in the fourth quarter. CWM LLC now owns 8,249 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $195,000 after purchasing an additional 592 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its holdings in Heritage Financial by 12.2% in the second quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 6,519 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $193,000 after purchasing an additional 710 shares during the last quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. lifted its stake in Heritage Financial by 4.6% in the first quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 20,060 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $488,000 after buying an additional 881 shares during the period. Finally, Swiss National Bank lifted its stake in Heritage Financial by 1.5% in the first quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 67,168 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,746,000 after buying an additional 1,000 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 78.30% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

HFWA has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Weiss Ratings reiterated a "buy (b)" rating on shares of Heritage Financial in a report on Tuesday, July 7th. Piper Sandler reduced their price target on Heritage Financial from $34.00 to $32.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 27th. Stephens upped their price target on Heritage Financial from $30.00 to $32.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 28th. Zacks Research raised Heritage Financial from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, June 26th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised Heritage Financial from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, May 16th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Heritage Financial has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $32.50.

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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