Heritage Financial reports Q1 EPS 16c with items, consensus 40c

In Q1, the company incurred a pre-tax loss of $10.0M on the sale of investment securities due to the strategic repositioning of its balance sheet, which affected diluted EPS by 22c. Q net interest income decreased $8.3M or 13.9%, vs. 1Q23 and net interest margin decreased 59 basis points to 3.32% from 3.91% during this same period. Tangible book value per share was $17.36 from $17.40 at previous quarter end. CEO Jeffrey Deuel commented, “We are pleased with our continued accomplishments in the first quarter including strong loan growth, repositioning of our balance sheet and expense management measures, which will strengthen our earnings in future periods. Although negatively impacting current earnings, we believe these actions will enhance our sustainable long-term returns for our shareholders.”