Heritage Financial Co. (NASDAQ:HFWA) Declares $0.23 Quarterly Dividend

Heritage Financial Co. (NASDAQ:HFWA - Get Free Report) announced a quarterly dividend on Wednesday, April 24th, Zacks reports. Investors of record on Wednesday, May 8th will be paid a dividend of 0.23 per share by the financial services provider on Wednesday, May 22nd. This represents a $0.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.15%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, May 7th.

Heritage Financial has increased its dividend by an average of 3.2% per year over the last three years and has raised its dividend every year for the last 2 years. Heritage Financial has a dividend payout ratio of 48.2% indicating that its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Research analysts expect Heritage Financial to earn $1.84 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $0.92 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 50.0%.

Heritage Financial Stock Performance

NASDAQ:HFWA traded down $0.22 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $17.87. 188,933 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 183,579. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $18.41 and a two-hundred day moving average of $18.72. Heritage Financial has a 12 month low of $14.85 and a 12 month high of $22.55. The firm has a market capitalization of $619.20 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.33 and a beta of 0.54. The company has a current ratio of 0.78, a quick ratio of 0.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61.

Heritage Financial (NASDAQ:HFWA - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, January 25th. The financial services provider reported $0.47 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.47. Heritage Financial had a return on equity of 8.66% and a net margin of 20.37%. The firm had revenue of $50.72 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $62.00 million. On average, equities analysts forecast that Heritage Financial will post 1.74 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have commented on the company. DA Davidson reduced their price objective on Heritage Financial from $24.00 to $23.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 26th. Stephens reiterated an "equal weight" rating and issued a $22.00 price objective on shares of Heritage Financial in a research report on Wednesday, March 13th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their price objective on Heritage Financial from $23.00 to $22.00 and set a "market perform" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 26th. Finally, StockNews.com raised Heritage Financial from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, January 26th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Heritage Financial presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $22.25.

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.