Heritage Financial (NASDAQ:HFWA) Stock Rating Upgraded by Wall Street Zen

Key Points

• Wall Street Zen upgraded Heritage Financial (NASDAQ:HFWA) from a "sell" to a "hold," while overall analyst coverage is split (three Buy, three Hold) with an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $31.00.
• Heritage posted an earnings beat on Jan. 22 with EPS of $0.66 versus $0.57 expected and revenue of $66.35M, and the stock trades at a market cap of $1.07B and a P/E of 13.32.
• Insiders have sold 8,368 shares worth about $226,740 in the last three months (insiders now own 1.8% of the company), while institutional investors hold roughly 78.3% of the stock.

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

HFWA has been the subject of several other research reports. DA Davidson upped their target price on shares of Heritage Financial from $29.00 to $32.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, January 23rd. Stephens raised their price target on Heritage Financial from $28.00 to $30.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Monday, January 26th. Weiss Ratings raised Heritage Financial from a "hold (c)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a research note on Monday, March 2nd. Finally, Piper Sandler cut their target price on Heritage Financial from $35.00 to $34.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $31.00.

Heritage Financial Stock Performance

Heritage Financial stock opened at $26.10 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $1.07 billion, a PE ratio of 13.32 and a beta of 0.49. The company has a current ratio of 0.83, a quick ratio of 0.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05. Heritage Financial has a 1 year low of $19.84 and a 1 year high of $28.98. The company's 50-day moving average is $26.37 and its two-hundred day moving average is $24.77.

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Frederick B. Rivera sold 1,800 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $26.31, for a total value of $47,358.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 4,972 shares in the company, valued at $130,813.32. This represents a 26.58% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Kelli Ann Wilson sold 1,900 shares of Heritage Financial stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $26.48, for a total value of $50,312.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 3,778 shares in the company, valued at approximately $100,041.44. This represents a 33.46% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 8,368 shares of company stock worth $226,740. Company insiders own 1.80% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Heritage Financial

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Brighton Jones LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Heritage Financial by 3.7% during the 3rd quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 12,452 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $301,000 after purchasing an additional 450 shares in the last quarter. CWM LLC increased its stake in Heritage Financial by 7.7% during the 4th quarter. CWM LLC now owns 8,249 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $195,000 after purchasing an additional 592 shares in the last quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. raised its holdings in Heritage Financial by 4.6% during the 1st quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 20,060 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $488,000 after buying an additional 881 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its holdings in Heritage Financial by 20.8% during the 4th quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 5,171 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $122,000 after buying an additional 891 shares during the period. Finally, Intech Investment Management LLC lifted its stake 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 valued at $868,000 after buying an additional 960 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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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