Heritage Financial (NASDAQ:HFWA) Lowered to Sell Rating by Wall Street Zen

Key Points

• Wall Street Zen downgraded Heritage Financial (NASDAQ:HFWA) from a "hold" to a "sell", even though analysts remain split (three Buys, three Holds) and MarketBeat's consensus is a Moderate Buy with an average target of $30.50.
• In the latest quarter HFWA reported $0.59 EPS, beating estimates by $0.02, but revenue of $77.92 million missed expectations; the company posted a 20.5% net margin and an 8.71% return on equity.
• Insider selling was disclosed as a director and the EVP sold shares (reducing their holdings), leaving insiders with 1.49% ownership while institutional investors hold 78.3% of the stock.

Heritage Financial (NASDAQ:HFWA - Get Free Report) was downgraded by investment analysts at Wall Street Zen from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report issued on Saturday.

A number of other research analysts have also recently issued reports on the stock. DA Davidson lifted their price objective on shares of Heritage Financial from $29.00 to $32.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, January 23rd. Piper Sandler cut their price target on shares of Heritage Financial from $34.00 to $32.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Monday. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Heritage Financial from a "hold (c)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a report on Monday, March 2nd. Finally, Stephens boosted their price target on shares of Heritage Financial from $28.00 to $30.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Monday, January 26th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $30.50.

Heritage Financial Stock Up 0.3%

Shares of NASDAQ HFWA opened at $27.61 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.14 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.53 and a beta of 0.50. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $26.38 and a 200-day moving average price of $25.16. Heritage Financial has a 1 year low of $21.32 and a 1 year high of $28.98. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04, a current ratio of 0.81 and a quick ratio of 0.83.

Heritage Financial (NASDAQ:HFWA - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 23rd. The financial services provider reported $0.59 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.57 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $77.92 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $80.31 million. Heritage Financial had a net margin of 20.50% and a return on equity of 8.71%. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Heritage Financial will post 2.39 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Frederick B. Rivera sold 1,800 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $26.31, for a total transaction of $47,358.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 4,972 shares in the company, valued at approximately $130,813.32. The trade was a 26.58% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Tony Chalfant sold 4,668 shares of Heritage Financial stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $27.65, for a total transaction of $129,070.20. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 19,870 shares in the company, valued at approximately $549,405.50. This represents a 19.02% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. 1.49% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Heritage Financial

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. CWM LLC raised its position in Heritage Financial by 7.7% in the fourth 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. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. raised its position in Heritage Financial by 4.6% in the first 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 during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its position in Heritage Financial by 20.8% in the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 5,171 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $122,000 after acquiring an additional 891 shares during the period. Intech Investment Management LLC raised its position in Heritage Financial by 2.7% in the third quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 35,891 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $868,000 after acquiring an additional 960 shares during the period. Finally, Millennium Management LLC raised its position in Heritage Financial by 7.2% in the third quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 15,700 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $380,000 after acquiring an additional 1,052 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 78.30% of the company's stock.

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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