Heritage Financial (NASDAQ:HFWA) Stock Passes Above 200 Day Moving Average - What's Next?

Heritage Financial Corporation (NASDAQ:HFWA - Get Free Report) shares passed above its 200-day moving average during trading on Friday . The stock has a 200-day moving average of $23.78 and traded as high as $24.07. Heritage Financial shares last traded at $23.84, with a volume of 432,467 shares.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on HFWA shares. Piper Sandler lowered their target price on shares of Heritage Financial from $34.00 to $31.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 28th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their price objective on Heritage Financial from $27.00 to $26.00 and set a "market perform" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 28th.

Heritage Financial Stock Performance

The company has a market capitalization of $846.27 million, a P/E ratio of 16.76 and a beta of 0.54. The company has a quick ratio of 0.84, a current ratio of 0.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33. The company's 50-day moving average is $23.34 and its two-hundred day moving average is $23.74.

Heritage Financial (NASDAQ:HFWA - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 24th. The financial services provider reported $0.49 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.46 by $0.03. Heritage Financial had a net margin of 15.73% and a return on equity of 7.12%. The firm had revenue of $57.59 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $61.74 million. Equities analysts anticipate that Heritage Financial Corporation will post 2.09 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Heritage Financial Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, May 21st. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, May 7th were paid a dividend of $0.24 per share. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.87%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, May 7th. Heritage Financial's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 64.86%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Heritage Financial

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of HFWA. Jennison Associates LLC boosted its stake in Heritage Financial by 24.7% in the first quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 2,752,114 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $66,959,000 after buying an additional 545,348 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its holdings in shares of Heritage Financial by 1.6% during the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,068,354 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $50,674,000 after purchasing an additional 33,429 shares during the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. raised its position in Heritage Financial by 15,727.7% in the 1st quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,480,997 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $36,033,000 after purchasing an additional 1,471,640 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in Heritage Financial by 0.7% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,249,905 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $30,623,000 after purchasing an additional 8,731 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp boosted its position in Heritage Financial by 1.5% during the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 433,678 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $10,625,000 after buying an additional 6,201 shares during the period. 78.30% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.