Heritage Financial (NASDAQ:HFWA) Hits New 12-Month Low - Here's What Happened

Heritage Financial Co. (NASDAQ:HFWA - Get Free Report)'s stock price reached a new 52-week low on Wednesday . The company traded as low as $22.19 and last traded at $22.82, with a volume of 307272 shares. The stock had previously closed at $22.94.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on HFWA. StockNews.com raised shares of Heritage Financial from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their price target on shares of Heritage Financial from $27.00 to $26.00 and set a "market perform" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 28th. Finally, Piper Sandler decreased their price objective on Heritage Financial from $34.00 to $31.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 28th.

Heritage Financial Trading Up 0.0 %

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a current ratio of 0.84. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $23.13 and a 200 day moving average price of $24.24. The company has a market cap of $799.37 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.00 and a beta of 0.53.

Heritage Financial (NASDAQ:HFWA - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 24th. The financial services provider reported $0.49 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.46 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $57.59 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $61.74 million. Heritage Financial had a net margin of 13.64% and a return on equity of 7.17%. As a group, equities analysts predict that Heritage Financial Co. will post 2.09 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Heritage Financial Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 21st. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, May 7th will be given a dividend of $0.24 per share. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.08%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, May 7th. Heritage Financial's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 64.86%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Heritage Financial

In other news, CEO Jeffrey J. Deuel sold 7,033 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $23.66, for a total transaction of $166,400.78. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 70,906 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,677,635.96. This trade represents a 9.02 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CFO Donald Hinson sold 3,420 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Monday, March 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $23.59, for a total value of $80,677.80. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 42,087 shares of the company's stock, valued at $992,832.33. This trade represents a 7.52 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 11,311 shares of company stock worth $267,473 over the last 90 days. Company insiders own 1.80% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Heritage Financial

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its holdings in Heritage Financial by 0.4% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 123,283 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $2,684,000 after buying an additional 500 shares during the period. CWM LLC raised its position in Heritage Financial by 14.8% during the first quarter. CWM LLC now owns 4,042 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $98,000 after purchasing an additional 520 shares in the last quarter. Brighton Jones LLC raised its holdings 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 buying an additional 567 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its stake in Heritage Financial by 45.3% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,972 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $72,000 after buying an additional 927 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sterling Capital Management LLC grew its position in Heritage Financial by 794.1% in the fourth quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC now owns 1,064 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 945 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.