Heritage Financial (NASDAQ:HFWA) Stock Price Crosses Above 200-Day Moving Average – Should You Sell?

Heritage Financial Co. (NASDAQ:HFWA)’s stock price passed above its 200-day moving average during trading on Friday . The stock has a 200-day moving average of $22.68 and traded as high as $23.31. Heritage Financial shares last traded at $23.08, with a volume of 149,212 shares trading hands.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

HFWA has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Stephens raised their target price on Heritage Financial from $24.00 to $26.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 29th. Piper Sandler lifted their price target on Heritage Financial from $27.00 to $28.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, October 28th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Heritage Financial currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $25.00.

Heritage Financial Stock Down 2.9 %

The firm has a market cap of $788.27 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.37 and a beta of 0.57. The company has a current ratio of 0.82, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $25.39 and a 200-day moving average price of $22.76.

Heritage Financial (NASDAQ:HFWA) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The financial services provider reported $0.33 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.42 by ($0.09). Heritage Financial had a net margin of 12.27% and a return on equity of 7.01%. The firm had revenue of $81.65 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $58.17 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.51 EPS. On average, equities analysts forecast that Heritage Financial Co. will post 1.65 EPS for the current year.

Heritage Financial Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, November 20th. Investors of record on Wednesday, November 6th were paid a $0.23 dividend. This represents a $0.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.99%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, November 6th. Heritage Financial’s payout ratio is 85.19%.

Insider Activity at Heritage Financial

In other Heritage Financial news, EVP Tony Chalfant sold 2,975 shares of Heritage Financial stock in a transaction dated Thursday, November 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $26.50, for a total value of $78,837.50. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 20,119 shares in the company, valued at $533,153.50. The trade was a 12.88 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 1.80% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Heritage Financial

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. purchased a new stake in shares of Heritage Financial during the 2nd quarter worth about $25,000. Point72 DIFC Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of Heritage Financial during the 2nd quarter worth about $27,000. Meeder Asset Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Heritage Financial during the 2nd quarter worth about $31,000. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its holdings in shares of Heritage Financial by 43.7% during the 3rd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,975 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $43,000 after purchasing an additional 601 shares during the period. Finally, CWM LLC grew its holdings in shares of Heritage Financial by 17.1% during the 3rd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 3,297 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $72,000 after purchasing an additional 481 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 78.30% of the company’s stock.

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.