Heritage Financial (NASDAQ:HFWA) Receives Market Perform Rating from Keefe, Bruyette & Woods

Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reissued their market perform rating on shares of Heritage Financial (NASDAQ:HFWA) in a report released on Wednesday morning, Benzinga reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods currently has a $20.00 target price on the financial services provider’s stock.

Separately, Stephens restated an equal weight rating and set a $22.00 price objective on shares of Heritage Financial in a research report on Wednesday, March 13th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of Hold and a consensus target price of $21.75.

Heritage Financial Stock Performance

Heritage Financial stock opened at $18.03 on Wednesday. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $17.95 and its 200-day moving average price is $18.88. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a current ratio of 0.80. The stock has a market cap of $625.46 million, a P/E ratio of 13.56 and a beta of 0.55. Heritage Financial has a fifty-two week low of $15.50 and a fifty-two week high of $22.55.

Heritage Financial (NASDAQ:HFWA) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 25th. The financial services provider reported $0.40 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.41 by ($0.01). The company had revenue of $48.63 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $59.87 million. Heritage Financial had a net margin of 15.70% and a return on equity of 8.18%. On average, equities research analysts expect that Heritage Financial will post 1.62 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Heritage Financial Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, May 22nd. Investors of record on Wednesday, May 8th were given a $0.23 dividend. This represents a $0.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.10%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, May 7th. Heritage Financial’s payout ratio is presently 69.17%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Heritage Financial

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. raised its position in Heritage Financial by 72.6% in the 4th quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 3,394 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $73,000 after purchasing an additional 1,428 shares during the period. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale bought a new stake in Heritage Financial in the 4th quarter worth $81,000. Arizona State Retirement System bought a new stake in Heritage Financial in the 4th quarter worth $210,000. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. bought a new stake in Heritage Financial in the 1st quarter worth $216,000. Finally, Hsbc Holdings PLC grew its holdings in Heritage Financial by 50.1% in the 3rd quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 18,273 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $299,000 after acquiring an additional 6,096 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 78.30% of the company’s stock.

Heritage Financial Company Profile

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.