Heritage Financial (NASDAQ:HFWA) Reaches New 1-Year High – Still a Buy?

by · The Cerbat Gem

Heritage Financial Corporation (NASDAQ:HFWA – Get Free Report) shares reached a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Monday . The stock traded as high as $26.92 and last traded at $24.34, with a volume of 178786 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $24.45.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on HFWA shares. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Heritage Financial from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, November 15th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price target on Heritage Financial from $26.00 to $28.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Monday, September 29th. DA Davidson set a $29.00 price objective on Heritage Financial in a research report on Monday, September 29th. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Heritage Financial in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Finally, Zacks Research downgraded Heritage Financial from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 25th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $29.33.

View Our Latest Research Report on Heritage Financial

Heritage Financial Price Performance

The company has a current ratio of 0.84, a quick ratio of 0.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18. The stock has a market cap of $803.08 million, a PE ratio of 14.33 and a beta of 0.52. The company’s 50 day moving average is $23.62 and its 200-day moving average is $23.86.

Heritage Financial (NASDAQ:HFWA – Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 23rd. The financial services provider reported $0.56 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.56. Heritage Financial had a net margin of 17.27% and a return on equity of 8.21%. The company had revenue of $65.70 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $65.25 million. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Heritage Financial Corporation will post 2.09 earnings per share for the current year.

Heritage Financial Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, November 19th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, November 5th were paid a dividend of $0.24 per share. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.1%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, November 5th. Heritage Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 58.18%.

Insider Transactions at Heritage Financial

In other Heritage Financial news, President Bryan Mcdonald bought 19,106 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, November 20th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $22.32 per share, with a total value of $426,445.92. Following the transaction, the president directly owned 31,363 shares in the company, valued at approximately $700,022.16. This trade represents a 155.88% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 1.90% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Heritage Financial

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Penn Capital Management Company LLC boosted its stake in Heritage Financial by 9.5% during the 3rd quarter. Penn Capital Management Company LLC now owns 26,245 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $635,000 after acquiring an additional 2,271 shares during the last quarter. Verition Fund Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Heritage Financial in the 3rd quarter valued at about $210,000. Millennium Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Heritage Financial by 7.2% during the third quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 15,700 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $380,000 after purchasing an additional 1,052 shares during the last quarter. Citadel Advisors LLC grew its stake in Heritage Financial by 145.1% in the third quarter. Citadel Advisors LLC now owns 12,540 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $303,000 after purchasing an additional 40,340 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE increased its holdings in Heritage Financial by 19.5% in the third quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 215,732 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $5,219,000 after buying an additional 35,151 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 78.30% of the company’s stock.

Heritage Financial Company Profile

(Get Free Report)

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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