Heritage Financial (NASDAQ:HFWA) Share Price Crosses Above 200-Day Moving Average – What’s Next?

Shares of Heritage Financial Corporation (NASDAQ:HFWA) crossed above its 200-day moving average during trading on Monday . The stock has a 200-day moving average of $24.70 and traded as high as $25.82. Heritage Financial shares last traded at $25.28, with a volume of 427,891 shares traded.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Stephens upped their price objective on shares of Heritage Financial from $28.00 to $30.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, January 26th. Piper Sandler lifted their target price on shares of Heritage Financial from $33.00 to $35.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note 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. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Heritage Financial from a “hold (c)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research note on Monday, March 2nd. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered Heritage Financial from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Saturday, February 28th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $31.25.

Heritage Financial Price Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05, a current ratio of 0.83 and a quick ratio of 0.83. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.05 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.05 and a beta of 0.51. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $26.39 and its 200-day simple moving average is $24.71.

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

Heritage Financial Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, February 11th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, January 28th were issued a dividend of $0.24 per share. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.8%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, January 28th. Heritage Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 48.98%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Kelli Ann Wilson sold 1,900 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, January 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $26.48, for a total value of $50,312.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 3,778 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $100,041.44. This trade represents a 33.46% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Tony Chalfant sold 4,668 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $27.65, for a total value of $129,070.20. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 19,870 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $549,405.50. This trade represents a 19.02% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold 8,368 shares of company stock valued at $226,740 over the last quarter. Insiders own 1.80% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Heritage Financial

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Jennison Associates LLC lifted its stake in shares of Heritage Financial by 0.9% in the fourth quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 3,107,165 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $73,484,000 after buying an additional 27,143 shares during the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. grew its stake in Heritage Financial by 9.2% in the 3rd quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 2,626,334 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $63,531,000 after buying an additional 220,273 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in Heritage Financial by 1.9% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 2,412,325 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $57,051,000 after buying an additional 45,422 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp raised its holdings in Heritage Financial by 3.2% in the 4th quarter. State Street Corp now owns 1,573,458 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $37,212,000 after acquiring an additional 48,765 shares during the period. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Heritage Financial by 0.5% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 842,598 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $19,929,000 after acquiring an additional 4,170 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 78.30% of the company’s stock.

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.