Fact based stock research
Heritage Financial (NasdaqGS:HFWA)

US42722X1063

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Growth - shows a company's growth potential. Green is "high growth" expected; red is "tough times ahead".

Safety - relates to the amount of debt a company has. Green is low debt level; red is high debt level.

Combined Financial - this isn't an average of the first three ranks but rather a consolidated view across several financial indicators. Green = good; red = tread carefully.

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Heritage Financial stock research in summary

hf-wa.com


ANALYSIS: With an Obermatt Combined Rank of 44 (worse than 56% compared with investment alternatives), Heritage Financial (Regional Banks, USA) shares have somewhat below-average financial characteristics compared with similar stocks. Shares of Heritage Financial are a good value (attractively priced) with a consolidated Value Rank of 72 (better than 72% of alternatives), are safely financed (Safety Rank of 68, which means low debt burdens), but show below-average growth (Growth Rank of 13). ...read more


RECOMMENDATION: A Combined Rank of 44, is a hold recommendation based on Heritage Financial's financial characteristics. As the company Heritage Financial's key financial metrics exhibit good value (Obermatt Value Rank of 72) but low growth (Obermatt Growth Rank of 13) while being safely financed (Obermatt Safety Rank of 68), it may be a safer investment because companies with low debt can better withstand times of crises. Yet the good value, better than 72% of comparable companies, may also indicate that the company's future is challenging. If you believe that low growth is temporary or just due to a specific current event, you may conclude that the good value of the stock provides an attractive investment opportunity and the downside is limited due to below-average financing risks. Obermatt Premium subscribers can further check the stock’s Sentiment Ranks, which also flow into the Obermatt 360° View for investors. ...read more


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Country USA
Industry Regional Banks
Index Sound Pay USA, NASDAQ
Size class XX-Large

21-Mar-2024. Stock data may be delayed. Log in or sign up to get the most recent research.




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Research History: Heritage Financial

RESEARCH HISTORY 2021 2022 2023 2024
VALUE
VALUE
GROWTH
GROWTH
SAFETY
SAFETY
SENTIMENT
SENTIMENT
360° VIEW
360° VIEW

Most recent update of the stock research: 21-Mar-2024. Financial reporting date used for calculating ranks: 30-Sep-2023. Stock research history is based on the Obermatt Method. The higher the rank, the better Heritage Financial is in the corresponding investment strategy.
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Combined financial peformance in Detail

ANALYSIS: With an Obermatt Combined Rank of 44 (worse than 56% compared with investment alternatives), Heritage Financial (Regional Banks, USA) shares have somewhat below-average financial characteristics compared with similar stocks. Shares of Heritage Financial are a good value (attractively priced) with a consolidated Value Rank of 72 (better than 72% of alternatives), are safely financed (Safety Rank of 68, which means low debt burdens), but show below-average growth (Growth Rank of 13). ...read more

RECOMMENDATION: A Combined Rank of 44, is a hold recommendation based on Heritage Financial's financial characteristics. As the company Heritage Financial's key financial metrics exhibit good value (Obermatt Value Rank of 72) but low growth (Obermatt Growth Rank of 13) while being safely financed (Obermatt Safety Rank of 68), it may be a safer investment because companies with low debt can better withstand times of crises. Yet the good value, better than 72% of comparable companies, may also indicate that the company's future is challenging. If you believe that low growth is temporary or just due to a specific current event, you may conclude that the good value of the stock provides an attractive investment opportunity and the downside is limited due to below-average financing risks. Obermatt Premium subscribers can further check the stock’s Sentiment Ranks, which also flow into the Obermatt 360° View for investors. ...read more

RESEARCH HISTORY 2021 2022 2023 2024
VALUE
VALUE
GROWTH
GROWTH
SAFETY
SAFETY
COMBINED
COMBINED

Last update of combined financial performance: 21-Mar-2024. Stock analysis on combined financial performance: The higher the rank of Heritage Financial the better the performance.


Value Metrics in Detail

ANALYSIS: With an Obermatt Value Rank of 72 (better than 72% compared with alternatives), Heritage Financial shares are more attractively priced than the majority of comparable stocks. The Value Rank is based on consolidating four value indicators, where three out of four indicators are above average for Heritage Financial. Price-to-Sales (P/S) is 56 which means that the stock price compared with what market professionals expect for future sales is lower than for 56% of comparable companies, indicating a good value for Heritage Financial's revenue size. The same is valid for the Price-to-Book Capital ratio (also referred to as market-to-book ratio) with a Price-to-Capital Rank of 76. Finally, compared with other companies in the same industry, dividend yields of Heritage Financial are expected to be higher than for 78% of all competitors (a Dividend Yield rank of 78). The only low rank is for expected profits with a Price-to-Profit Rank of 44, indicating that the market expects the company's profit to be low despite a high dividend. ...read more

RECOMMENDATION: The overall picture with a consolidated Value Rank of 72, is a buy recommendation based on Heritage Financial's stock price compared with the company's operational size and dividend yields. The low Profit Rank could result from a one-off charge, for instance, for an accident, a legal settlement, or a restructuring project. If the company keeps its dividends high, the low expected profit may be transitory. If that is the case, the three good value ranks for Sales, Capital, and Dividends are reliable indicators for good stock price value, a low stock price. We recommend further analyzing the stock with Obermatt’s Value, Safety, and Sentiment Ranks, including the 360° View, before making an investment decision. ...read more


VALUE METRICS 2021 2022 2023 2024
PRICE VS. REVENUES (P/S)
PRICE VS. REVENUES (P/S)
PRICE VS. PROFITS (P/E)
PRICE VS. PROFITS (P/E)
PRICE VS. CAPITAL (Market-to-Book)
PRICE VS. CAPITAL (Market-to-Book)
DIVIDEND YIELD
DIVIDEND YIELD
CONSOLIDATED RANK: VALUE
CONSOLIDATED RANK: VALUE

Last update of Value Rank: 21-Mar-2024. Stock analysis on value ratios: The higher the rank, the lower the value ratio of Heritage Financial; except for dividend yield where the rank is higher, the higher the yield.


Growth Metrics in Detail

ANALYSIS: With an Obermatt Growth Rank of 13 (better than 13% compared with alternatives), Heritage Financial shows one of the most restricted growth dynamics in its industry. There is little momentum in this company. The Growth Rank is based on consolidating four value indicators, with three out of four metrics below average for Heritage Financial. While Profit Growth has a good rank of 54, as professionals currently expect the company to grow its profits more than 54% of its competitors, all other growth indicators are below market averages. Sales Growth has a rank of 30, which means that currently professionals expect the company to grow less than 70% of its competitors, while Capital Growth has a rank of 37 and Stock Returns have been below market median, with a rank of 15 (85% of alternative investments were better). ...read more

RECOMMENDATION: The overall picture with a consolidated Growth Rank of 13, is a sell recommendation for growth and momentum investors. While revenue growth and capital growth are good growth momentum indicators, profit is less reliable, because profits may increase due to cost-cutting measures which typically indicate negative growth momentum. "You can save a dollar only once" is the saying about such situations. Growth Investors should look at company priorities closely if they are interested in growth, because the increase in profits is not usually an indicator of growth, and stock prices have been below market, too. While momentum is a popular investment factor, the value aspect might be the more important one, in the longer term. We recommend analyzing the stock with Obermatt’s Value, Safety, and Sentiment Ranks to arrive at a 360° View of the stock purchase case, especially since the growth performance is limited here. ...read more

GROWTH METRICS 2021 2022 2023 2024
REVENUE GROWTH
REVENUE GROWTH
PROFIT GROWTH
PROFIT GROWTH
CAPITAL GROWTH
CAPITAL GROWTH
STOCK RETURNS
STOCK RETURNS
CONSOLIDATED RANK: GROWTH
CONSOLIDATED RANK: GROWTH

Last update of Growth Rank: 21-Mar-2024. Stock analysis on growth metrics: The higher the rank, the higher the growth and returns of Heritage Financial.


Safety Metrics in Detail

ANALYSIS: With an Obermatt Safety Rank of 68 (better than 68% compared with alternatives), the company Heritage Financial has financing practices on the safer side, which mean that their overall debt burden is lower than average. This doesn't mean that the business of Heritage Financial is safe, it only means that the company is on the safer side regarding possible bankruptcy, assuming that public reporting is correct. The Safety Rank is based on consolidating three financing indicators, with two out of three indicators above average for Heritage Financial. Leverage is at a rank of 71, meaning the company has a below-average debt-to-equity ratio. It has less debt than 71% of its competitors. Liquidity is also good at a rank of 91, meaning the company generates more profit to service its debt than 91% of its competitors. This indicates that the company is on the safer side when it comes to debt service. But Refinancing is lower at a rank of 12, which means that the portion of the debt that is about to be refinanced is above-average. It has more debt in the refinancing stage than 88% of its competitors. ...read more

RECOMMENDATION: With a consolidated Safety Rank of 68 (better than 68% compared with alternatives), Heritage Financial has a financing structure that is safer than that of its competitors. The refinancing issues could be a short-term problem, especially if the company has reputation issues. Banks and investors don't like to refinance debt if there are clouds on the horizon. For this reason, investors should look at the refinancing environment for Heritage Financial. Does it look safe that debt that is coming due can be covered with new debt? If that is the case, then the financing situation of the company is on the safer side. If not, it may be better to wait until refinancing has been completed and the Refinancing rank is good again. Investors may have a short-term debt challenge with Heritage Financial and should also compare Obermatt’s Value, Growth, and Sentiment Ranks before making a decision. ...read more

SAFETY METRICS 2021 2022 2023 2024
LEVERAGE
LEVERAGE
REFINANCING
REFINANCING
LIQUIDITY
LIQUIDITY
CONSOLIDATED RANK: SAFETY
CONSOLIDATED RANK: SAFETY

Last update of Safety Rank: 21-Mar-2024. Stock analysis on safety metrics: The higher the rank, the lower the leverage of Heritage Financial and the more cash is available to service its debt.


Sentiment Metrics in Detail

SENTIMENT 2021 2022 2023 2024
ANALYST OPINIONS
ANALYST OPINIONS
OPINIONS CHANGE
OPINIONS CHANGE
PRO HOLDINGS
PRO HOLDINGS
MARKET PULSE
MARKET PULSE
CONSOLIDATED RANK: SENTIMENT
CONSOLIDATED RANK: SENTIMENT

Last update of Sentiment Rank: 21-Mar-2024. Stock analysis on sentiment metrics: The higher the rank, the more positive the sentiment for Heritage Financial.
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Stock analysis by the purely fact based Obermatt Method for Heritage Financial from March 21, 2024.

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