Heritage Financial (NASDAQ:HFWA) Given Hold (C) Rating at Weiss Ratings

Key Points

• Heritage Financial's stock has been given a "hold (c)" rating by Weiss Ratings, while other analysts have varied in their evaluations, with some upgrading the stock to a "strong-buy" rating.
• The company's most recent earnings report showed earnings per share of $0.53, exceeding analysts' expectations, but its revenue fell short of estimates at $56.50 million.
• Heritage Financial has a market cap of approximately $810.73 million and a consensus target price of $28.50 among analysts, reflecting a generally positive outlook for the stock despite mixed ratings.

Heritage Financial (NASDAQ:HFWA - Get Free Report)'s stock had its "hold (c)" rating restated by equities researchers at Weiss Ratings in a research note issued to investors on Wednesday,Weiss Ratings reports.

A number of other brokerages have also weighed in on HFWA. Wall Street Zen lowered Heritage Financial from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Saturday, July 26th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price target on Heritage Financial from $26.00 to $28.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a research report on Monday, September 29th. DA Davidson set a $29.00 price target on Heritage Financial in a research report on Monday, September 29th. Finally, Zacks Research raised Heritage Financial from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Friday, October 3rd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have assigned a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $28.50.

Heritage Financial Price Performance

HFWA opened at $23.88 on Wednesday. The stock's 50 day simple moving average is $24.00 and its 200 day simple moving average is $23.65. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a current ratio of 0.85 and a quick ratio of 0.85. Heritage Financial has a 1 year low of $19.84 and a 1 year high of $27.58. The firm has a market cap of $810.73 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.70 and a beta of 0.53.

Heritage Financial (NASDAQ:HFWA - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 24th. The financial services provider reported $0.53 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.50 by $0.03. The firm 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%. As a group, analysts predict that Heritage Financial will post 2.09 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Trading of Heritage Financial

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its position in shares of Heritage Financial by 45.3% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,972 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $72,000 after purchasing an additional 927 shares in the last quarter. Brighton Jones LLC lifted its stake in shares of Heritage Financial by 5.0% during the 1st quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 11,864 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $289,000 after acquiring an additional 567 shares during the last quarter. Diversified Trust Co bought a new stake in shares of Heritage Financial during the 1st quarter worth approximately $214,000. Keybank National Association OH increased its holdings in Heritage Financial by 17.7% during the 1st quarter. Keybank National Association OH now owns 58,674 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,428,000 after purchasing an additional 8,833 shares during the period. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its holdings in Heritage Financial by 2.2% during the 1st quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 193,820 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $4,716,000 after purchasing an additional 4,101 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 78.30% of the company's stock.

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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