Heritage Financial (HFWA) Competitors

Heritage Financial (NASDAQ:HFWA) and First Interstate BancSystem (NASDAQ:FIBK) are both finance companies, but which is the better investment? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their dividends, institutional ownership, analyst recommendations, valuation, media sentiment, profitability, earnings, risk and community ranking.

Does the media favor HFWA or FIBK?

In the previous week, First Interstate BancSystem had 2 more articles in the media than Heritage Financial. MarketBeat recorded 4 mentions for First Interstate BancSystem and 2 mentions for Heritage Financial. Heritage Financial's average media sentiment score of 1.09 beat First Interstate BancSystem's score of 0.53 indicating that Heritage Financial is being referred to more favorably in the media.

Company	Very Positive	Positive	Neutral	Negative	Very Negative	Overall Sentiment
Heritage Financial	1 Very Positive mention(s)	0 Positive mention(s)	1 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive
First Interstate BancSystem	1 Very Positive mention(s)	0 Positive mention(s)	2 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive

Does the MarketBeat Community prefer HFWA or FIBK?

Heritage Financial received 62 more outperform votes than First Interstate BancSystem when rated by MarketBeat users. Likewise, 58.06% of users gave Heritage Financial an outperform vote while only 49.64% of users gave First Interstate BancSystem an outperform vote.

Company	Underperform	Outperform
Heritage Financial	Outperform Votes 335 58.06%	Underperform Votes 242 41.94%
First Interstate BancSystem	Outperform Votes 273 49.64%	Underperform Votes 277 50.36%

Which has more volatility & risk, HFWA or FIBK?

Heritage Financial has a beta of 0.57, suggesting that its share price is 43% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, First Interstate BancSystem has a beta of 0.85, suggesting that its share price is 15% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Is HFWA or FIBK a better dividend stock?

Heritage Financial pays an annual dividend of $0.92 per share and has a dividend yield of 3.7%. First Interstate BancSystem pays an annual dividend of $1.88 per share and has a dividend yield of 5.8%. Heritage Financial pays out 85.2% of its earnings in the form of a dividend, suggesting it may not have sufficient earnings to cover its dividend payment in the future. First Interstate BancSystem pays out 82.5% of its earnings in the form of a dividend, suggesting it may not have sufficient earnings to cover its dividend payment in the future. Heritage Financial has raised its dividend for 13 consecutive years. First Interstate BancSystem is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and lower payout ratio.

Which has preferable earnings and valuation, HFWA or FIBK?

First Interstate BancSystem has higher revenue and earnings than Heritage Financial. First Interstate BancSystem is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Heritage Financial, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Company	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Heritage Financial	$210.51M	3.98	$61.76M	$1.08	22.73
First Interstate BancSystem	$1.43B	2.38	$257.50M	$2.28	14.27

Do insiders & institutionals have more ownership in HFWA or FIBK?

78.3% of Heritage Financial shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 88.7% of First Interstate BancSystem shares are held by institutional investors. 1.8% of Heritage Financial shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 6.9% of First Interstate BancSystem shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, hedge funds and large money managers believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Is HFWA or FIBK more profitable?

First Interstate BancSystem has a net margin of 15.94% compared to Heritage Financial's net margin of 12.27%. First Interstate BancSystem's return on equity of 7.48% beat Heritage Financial's return on equity.

Company	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Heritage Financial	12.27%	7.01%	0.84%
First Interstate BancSystem	15.94%	7.48%	0.81%

Do analysts prefer HFWA or FIBK?

Heritage Financial presently has a consensus target price of $25.00, indicating a potential upside of 1.83%. First Interstate BancSystem has a consensus target price of $35.00, indicating a potential upside of 7.56%. Given First Interstate BancSystem's higher probable upside, analysts plainly believe First Interstate BancSystem is more favorable than Heritage Financial.

Company	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Heritage Financial	0 Sell rating(s)	2 Hold rating(s)	2 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.50
First Interstate BancSystem	2 Sell rating(s)	2 Hold rating(s)	3 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.14

Summary

First Interstate BancSystem beats Heritage Financial on 13 of the 21 factors compared between the two stocks.