First Trust Advisors LP boosted its stake in shares of Heritage Financial Co. (NASDAQ:HFWA – Free Report) by 20.5% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 25,156 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 4,286 shares during the quarter. First Trust Advisors LP’s holdings in Heritage Financial were worth $616,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.
A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its position in Heritage Financial by 0.4% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 123,283 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,684,000 after acquiring an additional 500 shares in the last quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Heritage Financial by 794.1% in the 4th quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC now owns 1,064 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 945 shares during the last quarter. Keybank National Association OH raised its stake in Heritage Financial by 5.2% in the fourth quarter. Keybank National Association OH now owns 49,841 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,221,000 after buying an additional 2,477 shares in the last quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. raised its position in shares of Heritage Financial by 18.0% during the 4th quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 24,968 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $607,000 after acquiring an additional 3,814 shares in the last quarter. Finally, ExodusPoint Capital Management LP boosted its holdings in Heritage Financial by 13.0% in the fourth quarter. ExodusPoint Capital Management LP now owns 33,613 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $824,000 after purchasing an additional 3,869 shares in the last quarter. 78.30% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.
Heritage Financial Price Performance
HFWA stock opened at $23.57 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.84, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47. The company has a market capitalization of $801.07 million, a P/E ratio of 19.01 and a beta of 0.53. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $23.02 and a 200-day simple moving average of $24.24. Heritage Financial Co. has a twelve month low of $16.55 and a twelve month high of $27.58.
Heritage Financial (NASDAQ:HFWA – Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The financial services provider reported $0.49 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.46 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $57.59 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $61.74 million. Heritage Financial had a net margin of 13.64% and a return on equity of 7.17%. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Heritage Financial Co. will post 2.09 EPS for the current year.
Heritage Financial Announces Dividend
The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 21st. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, May 7th will be paid a dividend of $0.24 per share. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.07%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, May 7th. Heritage Financial’s dividend payout ratio is presently 64.86%.
Wall Street Analyst Weigh In
HFWA has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Piper Sandler cut their price objective on shares of Heritage Financial from $34.00 to $31.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 28th. StockNews.com raised shares of Heritage Financial from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their price objective on Heritage Financial from $27.00 to $26.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 28th.
View Our Latest Analysis on HFWA
Insider Buying and Selling at Heritage Financial
In other news, CEO Jeffrey J. Deuel sold 7,033 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $23.66, for a total transaction of $166,400.78. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 70,906 shares in the company, valued at $1,677,635.96. This represents a 9.02 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CFO Donald Hinson sold 3,420 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, March 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $23.59, for a total value of $80,677.80. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 42,087 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $992,832.33. This represents a 7.52 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 11,311 shares of company stock valued at $267,473 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 1.80% of the company’s stock.
Heritage Financial Company Profile
(Free Report)
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.
Further Reading
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