Heritage Financial (NASDAQ:HFWA) EVP Tony Chalfant Sells 3,234 Shares of Stock

Key Points

• Heritage Financial EVP Tony Chalfant sold 3,234 shares at an average price of $29.92, totaling $96,761.28 and reducing his ownership by 13.71% to 20,362 shares.
• HFWA shares fell 1.7% to $30.01, while the company reported quarterly EPS of $0.57, beating estimates of $0.44, on revenue of $84.13 million.
• Heritage Financial raised its quarterly dividend to $0.25 per share, equal to a $1.00 annualized payout and a 3.3% 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 Tony Chalfant sold 3,234 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $29.92, for a total transaction of $96,761.28. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 20,362 shares in the company, valued at $609,231.04. The trade was a 13.71% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link.

Heritage Financial Trading Down 1.7%

Shares of HFWA traded down $0.52 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $30.01. The company had a trading volume of 362,155 shares, compared to its average volume of 316,818. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $29.07 and a 200-day simple moving average of $27.48. Heritage Financial Corporation has a 1-year low of $21.32 and a 1-year 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 stock has a market cap of $1.24 billion, a PE ratio of 14.29 and a beta of 0.50.

Heritage Financial (NASDAQ:HFWA - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 23rd. The financial services provider reported $0.57 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.44 by $0.13. The firm had revenue of $84.13 million for 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%. Research analysts forecast that Heritage Financial Corporation will post 2.37 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Heritage Financial Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, August 19th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, August 5th will be given a dividend of $0.25 per share. This is a boost from Heritage Financial's previous quarterly dividend of $0.24. 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. Heritage Financial's dividend payout ratio is currently 45.71%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have commented on HFWA. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Heritage Financial from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, June 26th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Heritage Financial from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, May 16th. Weiss Ratings reissued a "buy (b)" rating on shares of Heritage Financial in a research note on Tuesday, July 7th. Stephens boosted their target price 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. Finally, DA Davidson upped their price target on Heritage Financial from $32.00 to $34.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, July 24th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $32.50.

Institutional Trading of Heritage Financial

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund boosted its position in shares of Heritage Financial by 2.9% during the 1st quarter. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund now owns 18,381 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $478,000 after acquiring an additional 514 shares in the last quarter. CWM LLC increased its holdings in shares of Heritage Financial by 7.7% in the 4th quarter. CWM LLC now owns 8,249 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $195,000 after acquiring an additional 592 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its position in shares of Heritage Financial by 12.2% during the 2nd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 6,519 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $193,000 after acquiring an additional 710 shares in the last quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. raised its position in shares of Heritage Financial by 4.6% during the 1st quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 20,060 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $488,000 after acquiring an additional 881 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Swiss National Bank lifted its stake in Heritage Financial by 1.5% during the first quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 67,168 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,746,000 after purchasing an additional 1,000 shares during the last quarter. 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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