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

Key Points

• Technical breakout: Shares of Heritage Financial (HFWA) crossed above their 200-day moving average ($24.88) on Monday, trading as high as $27.32 and last at $27.22 on volume of 186,773, suggesting bullish momentum.
• Analyst and fundamental backdrop: The consensus rating is a Moderate Buy (3 Buy, 3 Hold) with an average price target of $31; the company recently beat quarterly EPS estimates ($0.66 vs $0.57), trades at a PE of ~13.9, has a ~$1.12B market cap and a 3.5% dividend yield.

Shares of Heritage Financial Corporation (NASDAQ:HFWA - Get Free Report) crossed above its 200-day moving average during trading on Monday . The stock has a 200-day moving average of $24.88 and traded as high as $27.32. Heritage Financial shares last traded at $27.22, with a volume of 186,773 shares.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts recently commented on the stock. Piper Sandler cut their price target on shares of Heritage Financial from $35.00 to $34.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 2nd. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Heritage Financial from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, April 4th. Stephens upped their target price on Heritage Financial from $28.00 to $30.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Monday, January 26th. DA Davidson increased their price target on Heritage Financial from $29.00 to $32.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, January 23rd. Finally, Weiss Ratings raised Heritage Financial from a "hold (c)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a research note on Monday, March 2nd. Three 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 an average price target of $31.00.

Heritage Financial Price Performance

The stock's 50 day moving average price is $26.52 and its 200-day moving average price is $24.88. The company has a quick ratio of 0.83, a current ratio of 0.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.12 billion, a PE ratio of 13.89 and a beta of 0.49.

Heritage Financial (NASDAQ:HFWA - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 22nd. The financial services provider reported $0.66 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.57 by $0.09. Heritage Financial had a net margin of 20.10% and a return on equity of 8.61%. The company had revenue of $66.35 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $65.95 million. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Heritage Financial Corporation will post 2.09 EPS for the current year.

Heritage Financial Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, February 11th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, January 28th were given a dividend of $0.24 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, January 28th. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.5%. Heritage Financial's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 48.98%.

Insider Activity

In other Heritage Financial news, Director Frederick B. Rivera sold 1,800 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 3rd. The stock was 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 $130,813.32. This trade represents a 26.58% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Kelli Ann Wilson sold 1,900 shares of Heritage Financial stock in a transaction on Monday, January 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $26.48, for a total value of $50,312.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 3,778 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $100,041.44. This trade represents a 33.46% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 8,368 shares of company stock valued at $226,740. Corporate insiders own 1.49% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Heritage Financial

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in HFWA. Jennison Associates LLC raised its holdings in shares of Heritage Financial by 0.9% in the fourth quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 3,107,165 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $73,484,000 after acquiring an additional 27,143 shares in the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. grew its holdings in Heritage Financial by 9.2% during the 3rd quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 2,626,334 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $63,531,000 after acquiring an additional 220,273 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in Heritage Financial by 1.9% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 2,412,325 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $57,051,000 after purchasing an additional 45,422 shares during the period. State Street Corp increased its position in Heritage Financial by 3.2% during the 4th quarter. State Street Corp now owns 1,573,458 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $37,212,000 after purchasing an additional 48,765 shares during the period. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Heritage Financial by 0.5% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 842,598 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $19,929,000 after purchasing an additional 4,170 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors 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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