Heritage Financial (NASDAQ:HFWA) Reaches New 52-Week High – What’s Next?

Heritage Financial Corporation (NASDAQ:HFWA) shares reached a new 52-week high during trading on Thursday . The stock traded as high as $28.99 and last traded at $28.86, with a volume of 5449 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $28.34.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently issued reports on HFWA. Weiss Ratings upgraded Heritage Financial from a “hold (c)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a report on Monday, March 2nd. Zacks Research downgraded Heritage Financial from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. Piper Sandler cut their price target on shares of Heritage Financial from $34.00 to $32.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 27th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised shares of Heritage Financial from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, May 16th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $30.50.

Heritage Financial Stock Performance

The firm has a market capitalization of $1.20 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.24 and a beta of 0.49. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $27.25 and a 200-day moving average price of $26.14. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04, a current ratio of 0.81 and a quick ratio of 0.81.

Heritage Financial (NASDAQ:HFWA) last released its earnings results on Thursday, April 23rd. The financial services provider reported $0.59 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.57 by $0.02. Heritage Financial had a return on equity of 8.71% and a net margin of 20.50%.The firm had revenue of $77.92 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $80.31 million. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Heritage Financial Corporation will post 2.39 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Heritage Financial Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, May 20th. Investors of record on Wednesday, May 6th were issued a $0.24 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, May 6th. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.3%. Heritage Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 47.06%.

Insider Transactions at Heritage Financial

In other Heritage Financial news, CFO Donald Hinson sold 3,842 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $28.37, for a total transaction of $108,997.54. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 41,241 shares in the company, valued at $1,170,007.17. The trade was a 8.52% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 1.49% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Heritage Financial

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Hantz Financial Services Inc. raised its position in shares of Heritage Financial by 316.9% during the 3rd quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 1,651 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $40,000 after acquiring an additional 1,255 shares in the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Heritage Financial by 27,871.4% during the 2nd quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,958 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $47,000 after buying an additional 1,951 shares during the last quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC lifted its position in shares of Heritage Financial by 99.1% during the 2nd quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 2,875 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $69,000 after buying an additional 1,431 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Heritage Financial by 20.8% in the 4th quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 5,171 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $122,000 after buying an additional 891 shares in the last quarter. Finally, CWM LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Heritage Financial by 7.7% in the 4th quarter. CWM LLC now owns 8,249 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $195,000 after buying an additional 592 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 78.30% of the company’s stock.

About Heritage Financial

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.