Heritage Financial Co. (HFWA) To Go Ex-Dividend on May 7th

Heritage Financial Co. (NASDAQ:HFWA) declared a quarterly dividend on Wednesday, April 24th, Zacks reports. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, May 8th will be paid a dividend of 0.23 per share by the financial services provider on Wednesday, May 22nd. This represents a $0.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.07%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, May 7th.

Heritage Financial has increased its dividend by an average of 3.2% per year over the last three years and has raised its dividend annually for the last 2 consecutive years. Heritage Financial has a dividend payout ratio of 48.2% meaning its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Equities research analysts expect Heritage Financial to earn $1.84 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $0.92 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 50.0%.

Heritage Financial Stock Up 0.3 %

NASDAQ:HFWA traded up $0.05 on Friday, hitting $18.14. The stock had a trading volume of 9,067 shares, compared to its average volume of 181,345. The company has a market cap of $628.55 million, a PE ratio of 10.34 and a beta of 0.54. Heritage Financial has a 52 week low of $14.85 and a 52 week high of $22.55. The business’s fifty day moving average is $18.41 and its 200 day moving average is $18.72. The company has a quick ratio of 0.78, a current ratio of 0.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61.

Heritage Financial (NASDAQ:HFWA) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 25th. The financial services provider reported $0.47 EPS for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.47. The firm had revenue of $50.72 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $62.00 million. Heritage Financial had a return on equity of 8.66% and a net margin of 20.37%. On average, equities research analysts expect that Heritage Financial will post 1.74 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts recently commented on HFWA shares. DA Davidson decreased their price target on Heritage Financial from $24.00 to $23.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 26th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their price target on Heritage Financial from $23.00 to $22.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 26th. StockNews.com raised Heritage Financial from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, January 26th. Finally, Stephens reissued an “equal weight” rating and issued a $22.00 target price on shares of Heritage Financial in a research report on Wednesday, March 13th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $22.25.

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.