Heritage Financial (NASDAQ:HFWA) Issues Earnings Results, Beats Expectations By $0.13 EPS

Key Points

• Heritage Financial beat earnings expectations for the quarter, reporting EPS of $0.57 versus the $0.44 consensus estimate, with a net margin of 20.50% and return on equity of 8.71%.
• The stock traded lower despite the beat, falling 2.1% to $29.55 on Thursday amid lighter-than-average trading volume.
• Analysts remain cautiously positive, with a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $30.50, though some firms recently trimmed targets or adjusted ratings.

Heritage Financial (NASDAQ:HFWA - Get Free Report) posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday. The financial services provider reported $0.57 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.44 by $0.13, Zacks reports. Heritage Financial had a net margin of 20.50% and a return on equity of 8.71%.

Heritage Financial Trading Down 2.1%

NASDAQ HFWA traded down $0.64 on Thursday, hitting $29.55. The company's stock had a trading volume of 28,759 shares, compared to its average volume of 299,302. The company has a current ratio of 0.81, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04. The firm has a market cap of $1.22 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.50 and a beta of 0.49. The company's 50-day simple moving average is $28.51 and its 200 day simple moving average is $27.11. Heritage Financial has a 52-week low of $21.32 and a 52-week high of $31.25.

Insider Transactions at Heritage Financial

In other Heritage Financial news, CFO Donald Hinson sold 3,842 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $28.37, for a total value of $108,997.54. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 41,241 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,170,007.17. This represents a 8.52% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders own 1.49% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Heritage Financial

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Heritage Financial by 27,871.4% in the 2nd quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,958 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $47,000 after acquiring an additional 1,951 shares in the last quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC grew its stake in Heritage Financial by 99.1% in the second quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 2,875 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $69,000 after purchasing an additional 1,431 shares during the period. BNP Paribas Financial Markets raised its holdings in Heritage Financial by 117.1% in the third quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 8,457 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $205,000 after purchasing an additional 4,561 shares in the last quarter. Verition Fund Management LLC purchased a new position in Heritage Financial during the third quarter valued at $210,000. Finally, Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank lifted its position in Heritage Financial by 35.2% during the third quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 10,991 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $266,000 after buying an additional 2,862 shares during the period. 78.30% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have commented on HFWA. Piper Sandler cut their target price on Heritage Financial from $34.00 to $32.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 27th. Zacks Research raised Heritage Financial from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, June 26th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "buy (b)" rating on shares of Heritage Financial in a research note on Tuesday, July 7th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised Heritage Financial from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, May 16th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $30.50.

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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.