Heritage Financial (NASDAQ:HFWA) Reaches New 52-Week High – Here’s Why

Heritage Financial Corporation (NASDAQ:HFWA)’s share price hit a new 52-week high during trading on Tuesday . The company traded as high as $28.60 and last traded at $28.29, with a volume of 13519 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $28.09.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Heritage Financial in a report on Thursday, January 22nd. Piper Sandler upped their price objective on shares of Heritage Financial from $33.00 to $35.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, February 5th. Zacks Research cut shares of Heritage Financial from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 25th. DA Davidson upped their target price on shares of Heritage Financial from $29.00 to $32.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 23rd. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded Heritage Financial from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, November 15th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Heritage Financial currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $31.25.

Heritage Financial Price Performance

The stock has a market cap of $950.71 million, a PE ratio of 14.28 and a beta of 0.53. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05, a quick ratio of 0.84 and a current ratio of 0.83. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $25.68 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $24.32.

Heritage Financial (NASDAQ:HFWA) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 22nd. The financial services provider reported $0.66 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.57 by $0.09. The business had revenue of $66.35 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $65.95 million. Heritage Financial had a return on equity of 8.61% and a net margin of 20.10%. Research analysts expect that Heritage Financial Corporation will post 2.09 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Heritage Financial Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, February 11th. Investors of record on Wednesday, January 28th were issued a $0.24 dividend. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, January 28th. Heritage Financial’s payout ratio is 48.98%.

Insider Activity at Heritage Financial

In other news, EVP Kelli Ann Wilson sold 1,900 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, January 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $26.48, for a total transaction of $50,312.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 3,778 shares in the company, valued at $100,041.44. This trade represents a 33.46% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Frederick B. Rivera sold 1,800 shares of Heritage Financial stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $26.31, for a total transaction of $47,358.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 4,972 shares in the company, valued at $130,813.32. This trade represents a 26.58% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 8,368 shares of company stock worth $226,740. 1.80% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Heritage Financial

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of HFWA. Brighton Jones LLC lifted its position in shares of Heritage Financial by 3.7% during the 3rd quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 12,452 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $301,000 after buying an additional 450 shares during the last quarter. CWM LLC lifted its holdings in Heritage Financial by 7.7% during the fourth quarter. CWM LLC now owns 8,249 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $195,000 after purchasing an additional 592 shares during the last quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. boosted its position in Heritage Financial by 4.6% during the first quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 20,060 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $488,000 after purchasing an additional 881 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its position in Heritage Financial by 20.8% during the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 5,171 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $122,000 after purchasing an additional 891 shares during the period. Finally, Intech Investment Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Heritage Financial by 2.7% in the third quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 35,891 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $868,000 after purchasing an additional 960 shares in the last quarter. 78.30% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.