Heritage Financial (NASDAQ:HFWA) Given New $32.00 Price Target at Keefe, Bruyette & Woods

Key Points

• Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised Heritage Financial’s price target to $32 from $31 while maintaining a “market perform” rating, implying approximately 6.66% upside from the $30 share price.
• Analyst sentiment is moderately positive: Heritage Financial has a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating and a consensus price target of $32, with recent target changes ranging from $32 to $34.
• The company reported quarterly EPS of $0.57, exceeding the $0.44 consensus estimate, while revenue of $84.13 million fell short of expectations; institutional investors own 78.30% of the stock.

Heritage Financial (NASDAQ:HFWA - Get Free Report) had its target price lifted by Keefe, Bruyette & Woods from $31.00 to $32.00 in a research report issued to clients and investors on Monday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a "market perform" rating on the financial services provider's stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods' target price points to a potential upside of 6.66% from the company's current price.

Several other research analysts have also recently weighed in on HFWA. DA Davidson raised their target price on Heritage Financial from $32.00 to $34.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday. Piper Sandler dropped their price target on shares of Heritage Financial from $34.00 to $32.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 27th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Heritage Financial from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, May 16th. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Heritage Financial from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, June 26th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "buy (b)" rating on shares of Heritage Financial in a research note on Tuesday, July 7th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $32.00.

Heritage Financial Price Performance

Shares of HFWA stock traded down $0.16 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $30.00. 84,889 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 308,630. The company's 50 day moving average price is $28.67 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $27.20. The company has a market cap of $1.24 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.29 and a beta of 0.49. Heritage Financial has a 12 month low of $21.32 and a 12 month high of $31.25. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.17, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a current ratio of 0.83.

Heritage Financial (NASDAQ:HFWA - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 23rd. The financial services provider reported $0.57 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.44 by $0.13. Heritage Financial had a net margin of 20.44% and a return on equity of 8.78%. The business had revenue of $84.13 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $86.30 million. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Heritage Financial will post 2.42 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Heritage Financial news, CFO Donald Hinson sold 3,842 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $28.37, for a total transaction of $108,997.54. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 41,241 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,170,007.17. This represents a 8.52% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 1.49% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Heritage Financial

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund grew its holdings in shares of Heritage Financial by 2.9% during the first quarter. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund now owns 18,381 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $478,000 after buying an additional 514 shares in the last quarter. CWM LLC boosted its position in Heritage Financial by 7.7% during the 4th quarter. CWM LLC now owns 8,249 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $195,000 after acquiring an additional 592 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its position in 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 during the period. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. grew its stake in 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 valued at $488,000 after acquiring an additional 881 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Swiss National Bank grew its stake in Heritage Financial by 1.5% during the 1st quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 67,168 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,746,000 after acquiring an additional 1,000 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 78.30% of the company's stock.

About Heritage Financial

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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