Heritage Financial (NASDAQ:HFWA) Stock Price Expected to Rise, Stephens Analyst Says

Heritage Financial (NASDAQ:HFWA) had its price objective hoisted by Stephens from $24.00 to $26.00 in a research report report published on Tuesday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an equal weight rating on the financial services provider’s stock.

A number of other brokerages also recently weighed in on HFWA. Piper Sandler raised their target price on shares of Heritage Financial from $27.00 to $28.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price target on shares of Heritage Financial from $20.00 to $23.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Friday, July 26th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $25.00.

Heritage Financial Stock Down 0.5 %

HFWA opened at $22.99 on Tuesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $793.16 million, a P/E ratio of 21.29 and a beta of 0.53. Heritage Financial has a one year low of $15.94 and a one year high of $23.82. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $22.00 and a 200-day moving average price of $20.08. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46, a current ratio of 0.82 and a quick ratio of 0.81.

Heritage Financial (NASDAQ:HFWA) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The financial services provider reported $0.33 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.42 by ($0.09). Heritage Financial had a return on equity of 7.01% and a net margin of 12.27%. The business had revenue of $81.65 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $58.17 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.51 earnings per share. Equities research analysts expect that Heritage Financial will post 1.62 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Heritage Financial Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 20th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, November 6th will be paid a $0.23 dividend. This represents a $0.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.00%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, November 6th. Heritage Financial’s dividend payout ratio is currently 85.19%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. New York State Teachers Retirement System grew its holdings in shares of Heritage Financial by 9.4% during the 3rd quarter. New York State Teachers Retirement System now owns 5,796 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $126,000 after purchasing an additional 500 shares during the last quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. boosted its position in Heritage Financial by 11.3% during the third quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 21,154 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $452,000 after buying an additional 2,154 shares during the period. CWM LLC grew its stake in shares of Heritage Financial by 17.1% during the third quarter. CWM LLC now owns 3,297 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $72,000 after buying an additional 481 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its holdings in shares of Heritage Financial by 43.7% in the third quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,975 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $43,000 after buying an additional 601 shares during the period. Finally, SG Americas Securities LLC bought a new stake in shares of Heritage Financial in the 3rd quarter valued at about $234,000. 78.30% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.