Keefe, Bruyette & Woods Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for Heritage Financial (NASDAQ:HFWA) Stock

Key Points

• Keefe, Bruyette & Woods has raised its price target for Heritage Financial from $26.00 to $28.00, signifying a potential upside of 12.68% from the stock's previous close.
• Heritage Financial's recent earnings report showed EPS of $0.53, exceeding expectations, but revenue fell short of estimates at $56.50 million.
• Institutional investors hold 78.30% of Heritage Financial's stock, with notable increases in investments from several firms during the first quarter.

Heritage Financial (NASDAQ:HFWA - Get Free Report) had its price target increased by research analysts at Keefe, Bruyette & Woods from $26.00 to $28.00 in a research report issued on Monday,Benzinga reports. The firm presently has a "market perform" rating on the financial services provider's stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods' target price would indicate a potential upside of 12.68% from the stock's previous close.

Other analysts have also issued research reports about the stock. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Heritage Financial from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Saturday, July 26th. DA Davidson restated a "buy" rating and set a $28.00 price target on shares of Heritage Financial in a research report on Friday. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Heritage Financial presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $28.25.

Heritage Financial Stock Up 1.0%

HFWA stock opened at $24.85 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a current ratio of 0.85 and a quick ratio of 0.85. Heritage Financial has a 1-year low of $19.84 and a 1-year high of $27.58. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $23.95 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $23.62. The firm has a market cap of $843.66 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.38 and a beta of 0.56.

Heritage Financial (NASDAQ:HFWA - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, July 24th. The financial services provider reported $0.53 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.50 by $0.03. Heritage Financial had a net margin of 15.22% and a return on equity of 7.34%. The firm had revenue of $56.50 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $63.54 million. Research analysts predict that Heritage Financial will post 2.09 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Heritage Financial

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Heritage Financial by 2.2% in the 1st quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 193,820 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $4,716,000 after purchasing an additional 4,101 shares during the period. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd acquired a new position in Heritage Financial in the first quarter worth approximately $844,000. Strs Ohio acquired a new position in Heritage Financial in the first quarter worth approximately $613,000. Public Sector Pension Investment Board increased its holdings in Heritage Financial by 26.7% in the first quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 107,826 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $2,623,000 after buying an additional 22,718 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Penn Capital Management Company LLC acquired a new position in Heritage Financial in the first quarter worth approximately $631,000. 78.30% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Heritage Financial

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.

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