Jeffrey Lyon Sells 10,000 Shares of Heritage Financial (NASDAQ:HFWA) Stock

Key Points

• Director Jeffrey Lyon sold 10,000 Heritage Financial shares at an average price of $30, generating $300,000 and reducing his position by 19.72% to 40,719 shares.
• Heritage Financial reported quarterly EPS of $0.57, beating estimates of $0.44, while revenue of $84.13 million fell short of the $86.30 million consensus forecast.
• The company increased its quarterly dividend to $0.25, implying a $1.00 annualized payout and a 3.3% yield. Analysts maintain a “Moderate Buy” consensus with an average price target of $32.50.

Heritage Financial Corporation (NASDAQ:HFWA - Get Free Report) Director Jeffrey Lyon sold 10,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $30.00, for a total value of $300,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 40,719 shares in the company, valued at $1,221,570. The trade was a 19.72% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink.

Heritage Financial Stock Performance

Heritage Financial stock traded down $0.52 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $30.01. 362,155 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 316,818. Heritage Financial Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $21.32 and a fifty-two week high of $31.25. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.24 billion, a PE ratio of 14.29 and a beta of 0.50. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $29.07 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $27.48. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.17, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a current ratio of 0.83.

Heritage Financial (NASDAQ:HFWA - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 23rd. The financial services provider reported $0.57 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.44 by $0.13. The business had revenue of $84.13 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $86.30 million. Heritage Financial had a net margin of 20.44% and a return on equity of 8.78%. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Heritage Financial Corporation will post 2.37 earnings per share for the current year.

Heritage Financial Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, August 19th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, August 5th will be given a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.3%. This is a positive change from Heritage Financial's previous quarterly dividend of $0.24. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, August 5th. Heritage Financial's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 45.71%.

Institutional Trading of Heritage Financial

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of HFWA. Jennison Associates LLC increased its position in shares of Heritage Financial by 3.4% during the first quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 3,213,473 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $83,550,000 after acquiring an additional 106,308 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Heritage Financial by 1.9% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 2,412,325 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $57,051,000 after acquiring an additional 45,422 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp boosted its position in shares of 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 worth $37,212,000 after purchasing an additional 48,765 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Heritage Financial by 0.5% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 842,598 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $19,929,000 after purchasing an additional 4,170 shares during the period. Finally, Basswood Capital Management L.L.C. increased its holdings in Heritage Financial by 163.1% in the 4th quarter. Basswood Capital Management L.L.C. now owns 607,105 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $14,358,000 after purchasing an additional 376,368 shares during the last quarter. 78.30% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have commented on HFWA. Piper Sandler cut their price objective on shares of Heritage Financial from $34.00 to $32.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 27th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "buy (b)" rating on shares of Heritage Financial in a research note on Tuesday, July 7th. Zacks Research raised shares of Heritage Financial from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, June 26th. Stephens raised their price objective on shares of Heritage Financial from $30.00 to $32.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 28th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their target price on shares of Heritage Financial from $31.00 to $32.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a report on Monday, July 27th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $32.50.

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.

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